Bits and Pieces
by willynilly23
Summary: Inspired by those of you attempting to post short pieces often, I present Bits and Pieces, short post Season 3 snippets that are not contiguous. I will try to update as often as possible and I will happily take prompts so send them along (must be Annie/Auggie focused of course).
1. Late

Auggie reached towards the bedside table feeling around for his water bottle and trying to get his heart rate under control when Annie started talking.

"So, we've had a significant amount of sex over the last two months," she mentioned casually but he could feel her heart still racing a little against his side as he handed her the water bottle first.

"If the last 2 hours were any indication, yes," he replied with a smirk.

"I mean, a lot," she handed the bottle back to him.

"Is that a problem?" he sounded truly confused.

"I don't want you to freak out at what I am about to say, but I am late," she managed to say it and move to her side of the bed at the same time leaving him alone with the implication of her words.

"OK."

"Did you hear me? You understand what I mean?"

"Yes, how late?" he sounded so calm, just like he did when she was in danger and he carefully instructed her out of it.

"Five days."

"Is that unusual?" he was working the problem.

"I am on the pill, so yes," she swallowed, her mouth dry already so soon after the water Auggie gave her.

"OK."

"Is that all you have to say?" she was more confused than angry.

"Until we know anything more concrete I am not going to spiral into panic just yet."

"Would it be panic?"

"Well we're not in high school, but it would make things a little more complicated sure," Auggie shrugged.

"But you're not panicking?"

"We'll figure it out, whatever it is Annie, we'll figure it out," he reached for her wanting her back in his arms.

Hours later Annie was on a plane to Belgium, hot on the trail of an arms dealer. Auggie found himself about to protest her mission assignment and realizing there was no way he could without outing the discussion they had had earlier. Their relationship was common knowledge, but Joan had warned that it better not get in the way of their professional relationship.

To say Auggie was distracted was an understatement. He tried not to let himself think about the possibilities. It wasn't that he didn't love Annie and wouldn't be thrilled to have their child, but it was a bit quick all things considered and Annie's job did not really scream mother-of-the-year.

After he had dropped the third file of the day and let go a slew of profanities Stu finally asked if anything was wrong.

"No, just not paying attention," Auggie sighed.

"Annie is safe, the meet went well, she'll be home tonight," Stu reassured.

"I know, just a lot on my feeble mind today."

"Auggie, Walker on 1," Barber hollered from across the room.

"Hey, everything ok?" he asked.

"Flight's delayed."

"Well that sucks," he smiled.

"And I'm not….." she paused and he knew exactly what she meant.

"OK," he knew the call was monitored.

"….going to be home until nearly 2:00 a.m."

"See you then, travel safely," Auggie ended the call and was confused by exactly how he felt.

Clearly he and Annie had to talk about this a little bit more.


	2. The Very Best Man

"So I know you just got back, but I have Stu's bachelor party tonight," Auggie mentioned as he kissed his way along Annie's collar bone.

Annie had returned from Egypt in the middle of the night and Auggie had been delighted to find her in his bed when he woke up.

"Wait? What?" Annie tried to focus on the words coming out of the lips she was enjoying.

"I'm sorry, it has been in the works for a couple weeks and I am kind of throwing it because his best man is just back from a deployment and it is a long story I thought I told you…."

"Stu's getting married?" Annie sat up dislodging Auggie from her body.

"Some spy you are," he chuckled and tried to pull her closer.

"Where have I been?" Annie allowed Auggie to resume kissing her.

"Vienna, Sao Paolo, Vancouver, London and Cairo," Auggie punctuated each location with a kiss.

"I've been on so many planes the past few weeks I think I could fly one if I tried really hard," Annie yawned.

"I know," Auggie said distractedly as Annie flipped them and crawled on top of him.

"If you are going to be out tonight, I might need something to tide me over…" she purred into his ear.

The End


	3. Dashes and Dots

Author's Notes: Will take prompts, if you have a scene you'd like to see let me know!

There were 10 intelligence operatives in the room, which sounded more exciting than it actually was. The meeting was in its third hour and Annie was bored. Auggie was sitting to her left, his chair touching hers as they all gathered around a small table so she reached down with her left hand while still taking notes with her right and began tapping Morse code on his thigh.

She felt the muscle clench under her finger and wanted to smile, but she was not going to betray this secret. She dared to glance at him and he made no indication that he was doing anything other than listening to Joan drone on about Guatemala.

Annie tapped out "I am bored" before flattening her hand against his thigh.

Sure enough he slid his hand down and tapped back against the soft skin on the top of her hand "Me too".

She turned her hand in his and tapped her finger against his palm, sliding her finger to indicate the dashes and she felt his hand tremble as she spelled out "want you".

His fingers against her palm spelled "now".

Joan asked Auggie to pull up a map of Guatemala and he casually returned his hand to the table to call up the right slides. Annie continued her assault on his thigh.

"Need you" she spelled out and paused and followed it with "bad" all the while writing down volumes of notes on Guatemalan terrorist training facilities.

Joan asked Annie to report on the wire transfers she had tracked down and Auggie was relentless. His long fingers tapped along her thigh "your skirt is driving me crazy" one word at a time until Annie was certain everyone in the room knew what was going on.

Finally Joan let them go to lunch. She headed to Arthur's office and the 7 other people all made a beeline for the food court since they only had 30 minutes before they moved on to the rest of Central America.

Auggie and Annie moved swiftly through the halls and into Auggie's office.

"Anyone here?" he asked Annie as she glanced at all the desks.

"No," her voice was so shaky.

"Over here," he tugged her towards the corner of the room where the tech closet resided, door ajar.

He led her into the small room, closed the door and pushed her up against, his lips on hers instantly.

"That was mean," she purred into his ear as she pulled his body flush against hers.

"You started it," he pointed out as he slid a hand up her bare leg.

"It escalated pretty fast," she admitted.

He kissed her so long and deep her body was vibrating for wanting him.

"Is this room sound proof?"

The End


	4. In Good Hands

Author's note: this wasn't a prompt per se, but a comment on Dashes and Dots did inspire this.

"I have no idea how you caught up with him, but you caught one of the most notorious cyber-terrorists of the 21st century Annie. Good job," Joan shook her head.

Annie just grinned.

"The FBI will take over from here, your reports are done, I think we can call it a night," Joan glanced at the clock which reflected 2:24 a.m.

"Are you sure you don't need a medic?" Joan cringed as she looked at Annie's bloodied knee.

"I'm OK. Auggie will clean it up for me," the operative assured despite her shaky voice.

Joan smiled, Annie and Auggie had been a formidable pair since day 1, but now they were unstoppable. The new aspect of their relationship, instead of fracturing their work life, had enhanced it. Joan didn't think it was possible for them to read one another better than before, but they did.

"OK, he's still here by the way," Joan pointed towards the drawn blinds.

"I figured," Annie smiled and stood wincing at the pain in her knee.

Annie wished Joan a good night and limped down to Tech Ops cursing another perfectly good pair of pants ruined in the line of duty.

"I need a wardrobe budget," she sighed as she slid the door to the deserted Tech Ops division open.

"You alright?" Auggie swiveled around to her.

"Yes," she sighed and nodded and dropped into his lap all at once.

Joan opened the blinds as she packed up and could see Annie sitting in Auggie's lap, their gentle kiss as he ran his hands over her body looking for additional hidden injuries. It was a sweet gesture, he was always so careful with her.

"Really just your knee?" he asked after he had done a quick assessment.

"Really, but it is a bit of a mess. Not stitches bad, but kind of gross," she laughed.

"I can handle gross, especially since I can't actually see it."

She leaned in and kissed him again, the adrenaline of the whole night finally hitting her. She deepened the kiss and he held her closer. He was conscious of her injured knee so he slid his hand up her thigh to avoid the affected part of her leg and the result was a jolt of desire that passed from her to him instantly.

Annie reached for Auggie's loosened tie and began unbuttoning his shirt as he slid his hands further up to her waist and then under her suit jacket.

Joan had finally wrapped everything up and was locking her office when she glanced back down to Tech Ops. The sweet and gentle scene from earlier had been replaced with something from Cinemax, she laughed and made her way down to dump some cold water on them.

"I thought I said go home," Joan announced from the doorway trying to avert her eyes.

The 2 entangled operatives froze, their lips still attached.

"Maybe I said make out in the middle of the DPD, but that doesn't sound like me," Joan grinned.

"Sorry," Annie found her voice first and grinned sheepishly.

"Can you drive with that?" she indicated the knee.

Annie nodded as Auggie stayed stoically silent.

"Good night then," Joan waved and was gone.

The End


	5. Father Knows Best

Annie was brushing her wet hair as Auggie finished his shower. He had called in their pizza before joining Annie under the warm water, but she extracted herself before things got out of hand.

The knock at the door halted her vivid memories of his hands on her wet skin.

"Pizza's here," she called through the door.

"Be right out," he replied as she ran to get the door.

Annie slid the loft door open ready to greet Matt, the kid that had been delivering pizza to Auggie's for as long as Annie had been eating pizza at Auggie's, but was met with someone else entirely.

"Dr. Anderson," she tried not to look too stunned as she met Auggie's father, "you are not the pizza guy."

"I am not, and you are not my son," he smiled.

"Come in," Annie ushered him in cursing the casual nature of her appearance, she was practically in pajamas, one of Auggie's oversized Army sweatshirts concealing the fact that she wasn't even wearing a bra, her hair wet from the shower Auggie was currently finishing.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Annie Walker. I'm Auggie's….Annie," she ended lamely.

"Wow, my son has his own Annie, he is a very lucky guy," while the words were snarky the smile was all Auggie.

"Pizza here?" Auggie called from the bathroom.

"Um, no," Annie's voice sounded strange.

"Then who was at the door?"

"I think you need to come see for yourself," she replied never taking her eyes off of the man across from her.

"Very funny Walker," he laughed.

"You know what I mean. Get dressed and get down here," she asked sweetly.

She offered Auggie's dad a beer and opened one for her and Auggie as well. The pizza actually arrived as Auggie was coming downstairs, so there was a bit of commotion as Annie paid Matt and negotiated the mini family reunion in front of her.

"Hello Son," Dr. Anderson greeted as Auggie made his way to the kitchen island.

"Dad? I had no idea you were coming to town," Auggie looked confused, but Annie didn't think it was a bad thing.

Annie didn't know much about Auggie's relationship with his parents. He had told her when they had just met that his dad had a hard time dealing with Auggie's blindness and the coping he had gone through after Iraq, but not much beyond that. He had pictures of his family about, even though he couldn't see them, and that was how Annie knew who the man was.

"I didn't know I was coming either. I was asked to consult last minute on a patient at Johns Hopkins, but he died before I even got here. I blocked 3 days and thought I would surprise you."

"Well, that you did," Auggie grinned.

"I met your Annie," the older man tipped his beer bottle in her direction and she smiled.

"My Annie?" Auggie was confused.

"I was flustered, I introduced myself as your Annie," she touched the cold beer to his hands for him to take as she set the pizza on the counter.

"As opposed to my house keeper or my accountant? Dad, this is Annie Walker, my girlfriend," he clarified the introduction.

The End


	6. All Through the Night

Annie was brushing her teeth when Auggie asked.

"What is going on outside?"

She peeked around the bathroom door to see the gorgeous man she adored sitting up in bed confused. She finished her teeth and made her way to the window, now aware of a significant amount of noise.

"Electric company, quite a few trucks and some cops," Annie reported as she looked down from the 3rd floor of Auggie's apartment.

"At 11:00?" Auggie sounded concerned.

"Yeah, but the block looks good, no power outages, strange. Wait is that….a backhoe?"

"This could be bad," Auggie grimaced.

"The joys of city life, right?" Annie practically bounced onto the bed and Auggie was temporarily distracted from the noise by kissing her.

As their kissing escalated, so did the noise. Finally the repeated clanging of metal hitting asphalt was too much.

"I now wish I was deaf too," Auggie pouted.

"It is awfully loud," Annie agreed.

"It is going to be very hard to get to sleep," Auggie surmised as his fingers trailed under Annie's soft cotton tee shirt.

"Maybe if we delayed sleeping for a little while they will be done," she suggested reaching for the drawstring on his pajama bottoms.

"Or we can exhaust ourselves to a point where the noise is moot," he smiled and pounced on her.

Auggie Anderson was as good as his word and better as they both eventually fell into an exhausted slumber.

The sleep was not long lived though as the noise persisted outside.

"I have military training and I cannot tolerate this," Auggie moaned.

"I was held captive in a Russian prison and exposed to all kinds of torture, this might be the worst," Annie agreed as she slipped from beneath the covers to investigate.

Auggie hit the talking alarm clock "2:17 a.m." it reported.

"Maybe we should pack up and head to your place, get a few solid hours of sleep any way," Auggie suggested.

"Good idea, but the road is closed at both ends for the work and my car is parked right in the middle of it," Annie reported.

Auggie pulled a pillow over his head but could still hear the clanging and the workers yelling and smell the diesel of the multiple vehicles idling down below. Annie crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over her head and tucked herself tight against Auggie's side.

"Maybe it is better in the living room," she offered from her cocoon and the words tickled against Auggie's side.

He got up this time since he could investigate this particular situation as well as her. He was back quickly.

"Worse."

"Not possible."

"Trust me, it's worse."

"Well I am awake now," Annie sat up and reached for the light.

Auggie sat on her side of the bed and stopped her hand as it reached and kissed it.

"Me too," he grinned lasciviously.

"Again?" she faux-sighed.

"Can you think of anything else to do at 2:30 in the morning besides sleep?"

"We could watch infomercials. They are very entertaining," she teased as she pulled him down.

The end


	7. Head Over Heels

"Aunt Annie, can you do a cartwheel?" Katia asked as she danced around the park bench her mother, aunt and Auggie were seated on.

"In fact I can," Annie stood up patting both Danielle and Auggie on the leg.

Annie stretched a little got a running lead and did 2 cartwheels and a back walkover.

"Show-off!" Danielle yelled from the bench.

"She's just excited to see the girls," Auggie laughed as he sipped his coffee.

"She really is fearless," Danielle sighed.

"She is very brave, that doesn't mean she's fearless," Auggie corrected.

While Auggie and Danielle talked, Annie was helping Chloe and Katia perfect their form, all 3 of them ending up in a giggling heap.

"She has been looking forward to this for weeks," Auggie mentioned.

"I'm glad it worked out, the girls miss her so much."

"Well it is mutual," Auggie grinned.

"I am also glad it worked out so I could actually witness this," she soon realized her hand gesture was wasted on Auggie.

"I assume you mean our relationship."

"Annie is happy Auggie, for the first time in forever she is truly happy and I can only assume it's because of you. I hear it every time we talk."

"Well, that also is mutual. It is a good thing we have, she and I."

"I knew it, when I met you all those years ago. I might not have known the whole story," Danielle remained vague about their work, "but I knew you were the guy she was always skirting around."

"Skirting around?" Auggie was now intrigued.

"I could tell she was pining away for someone, she never said anything but I knew there was someone. Then when we were in Stockholm and everything went bad it was you that got us out and I could hear it in her voice, she loved you then."

"I _really_ didn't know that then," Auggie now knew how hurt Annie had been then.

"Well, it all worked out for the best," Danielle wrapped it up with a warm hand on Auggie's arm as the 3 giggling girls approached.

"Mom, can we get ice cream?" Chloe asked as Annie flopped on the bench.

"Sure. We'll be right back," Danielle grinned and left the 2 of them alone on the bench.

"Cartwheels Walker?"

"What can I say, I'm a kid at heart," she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

The End


	8. Reality Check

"What are you watching?" Auggie looked up from his computer.

"You don't want to know," Annie mumbled around a mouthful of ice cream.

"It is annoyingly….annoying," he grumbled but didn't really look all that annoyed.

"Eloquent Anderson," she returned.

"Lots of women yelling," he assessed.

"Yep. It is called Dance Moms and there is a little bit of dancing and a lot of yelling."

"The moms dance?"

"No, the moms yell, their kids dance. The kids are pretty cute," Annie got up from the couch to see what Auggie was doing.

"Hey," he grinned as she slid her hands along his shoulders and down his chest.

"Are you playing Tetris?"

"Mmmm, hmmm," although the game was currently paused.

"How?" she asked amazed.

"The headphones tell me what shape the next piece is; I keep the board in my head."

"Holy shit, that is unbelievable. You're like a genius or something and meanwhile I just ate ¾ of a pint of Ben & Jerry's and lost 47 IQ points watching reality tv."

"You can speak 10 languages Annie, I think you have a few IQ points to spare."

She kissed him on the cheek and proceeded to the kitchen to toss the empty ice cream carton. When she looked back Auggie had retreated to the couch and mouth agape, glaring towards the television.

"What now?"

"There is apparently an entire show devoted to helping women find a bra," his eyebrows knit together.

"You must have misinterpreted that," she laughed.

"A minute ago I was a genius now you doubt my comprehension of a TV commercial?"

"That can't possibly be the plot of a TV show, maybe it was an infomercial or something?"

"How hard is it to find a bra? I mean they sell them through catalogues," he grinned.

"One that fits right, not super easy, but there shouldn't be a TV show about it," she grinned and slid her feet onto his lap.

The End


	9. Formal Wear

Annie let herself into the loft with the freshly made key Auggie had given her and announced herself, "I'm here!"

"Sorry, still getting ready," Auggie replied from what sounded like the bathroom.

"That's OK, I'm early," Annie made her way through the apartment and found Auggie standing in front of the sink in tuxedo pants and nothing else.

"Hey," he smiled his greeting in the mirror as he finished shaving.

"Hey yourself," she smiled and placed a kiss on his shoulder, leaving a faint trace of lipstick there.

"Barber had trouble with a cypher fix, I didn't leave when I told I was going too," he shrugged.

"No worries, it is a cover thing, no baddies to catch tonight. I hope. We could even be a little late," she hooked a finger under the waistband of his pants and pulled him closer.

"If I get my hands on you now you will never get your hair back to whatever you've done to it," he chuckled and turned to give her a proper kiss.

His hands found silk and skin as the one shouldered dress materialized in his mind.

"You're right and the sooner we make our appearance, the sooner we can come home," she pushed him towards his bed where the rest of his tux was laid out.

Annie's phone was ringing downstairs.

"Get that, I'll move quicker without you," he waved her towards his closet, but she knew what he meant.

The phone call was Danielle and Annie chatted with her sister for a few minutes, but froze mid-sentence when he appeared on the landing.

"Annie?" both Danielle and Auggie asked at once.

"Um, wow," was all Annie got out.

"I didn't wear the tux with the ruffled powder blue shirt, did I?" Auggie smirked.

"Auggie's in a tux?" Danielle asked from 3,000 miles away.

"Yeah, and I've got to go. I'll send you a picture," Annie hung up without saying good-bye which is something sisters can get away with.

"What's wrong?" Auggie asked.

"Nothing," Annie was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

"Doesn't sound like nothing," Auggie made his way down the small staircase and to her side.

"I've never seen you in a tux, at least I don't think I have and as soon as I saw you I had this vivid memory of dancing with you in a tux," her voice was a whisper by the end.

"Maybe it was one of the many dreams you had about me Walker," his words were jokey but his voice was so sincere.

"Maybe," she smiled and slid her hands to his shoulders.

He placed one hand on her waist and took her hand with the other. The sense of déjà vu was too much, she released his hand and slid her arms up and around his shoulders, hugging him as close as she could.

"We almost didn't get to have this. Too many times last year, we almost lost all of this," her words were warm against his ear.

"I know," he didn't try to make her feel better, he had the same fears so he just held her as long as she wanted.

The End


	10. Formal Wear Part 2

Formal Wear Part 2

Annie kept Auggie close all evening, playing her new cover to the best of her ability. The Kennedy Center event was lovely and she returned to the crowd after a stop in the ladies room and Auggie was nowhere in sight.

She found him out on the terrace overlooking the Potomac.

"Thinking about jumping?" she asked playfully as she slipped her arm through his.

"Just getting some air," he smiled but it wasn't his full smile.

"Something wrong?"

"You know you don't have to stick to me like glue right? I can navigate a crowded party just fine, if you have work to do don't worry about me," he shrugged.

"You think I have been sticking to your side because I was afraid you'd get lost in the crowd?" she shook her head.

"Yeah, I thought you were going to take me to the ladies room with you," he sounded sad.

Annie turned him from the railing where he was facing out towards the Pentagon and slid her hands along the lapels of his tux. She liked this cover, it allowed her to have a boyfriend who looked amazing in a tux.

"From the minute we walked into the room every woman here had her eyes on you. I didn't leave your side tonight because I didn't want a single one of them to think you were available. I wasn't worried about you navigating a crowded room, I was staking my claim on the hottest guy _in_ the room," she finished the thought whispering in his ear, her words sliding along the column of his neck and causing them both to shiver.

"Have you sufficiently flaunted your cover?" he whispered in return.

She didn't answer verbally, but nodded, her silky hair moving along his cheek.

Hours later dozing off in bed Auggie brought up the earlier conversation.

"You don't think another woman is going to sweep in and displace you, do you?" Auggie asked quietly.

"No," she answered not very convincingly.

"Annie? You know I love you and have loved you or a very long time."

"I know," but her voice was still shaky.

"Do you? I love you in ways I never knew I could love anyone."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I know there were women before you and I know I rushed into a proposal with Parker, but I had no idea what I was missing. That was all lust and sex and fear and loneliness. I had no idea what love really felt like."

Annie was intrigued now, she and Auggie had talked a little, mostly about Parker, but this was new information.

"Annie, I am never scared and never lonely when I am with you. You don't fill a void for me, because with you in my life there is no void. Even before this," he indicated the naked together in bed thing.

"Yeah?" she apparently only knew one word now.

"Yeah, after I met you the one night stands started to dwindle. I realized I didn't need that to feel whole again. You made me feel whole."

Annie found her voice again.

"You are more than whole Auggie. You are more than I ever thought I could have."

"So we are OK?" he stroked his large warm hand up and down her back until she practically purred.

"I'm still not leaving you alone when you wear that tux, someone might kidnap you," she smiled against the warm skin of his shoulder and he felt her eyelashes flutter there as she drifted off to sleep.

The End


	11. Snow

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the lovely feedback on these stories, I have really enjoyed writing them.

Annie felt Auggie get up from the bed and pad across the room, the bathroom door closing, water, the door re-opening. She had gotten used to sleeping with someone else, the sharing of space and whatnot. She expected to feel the familiar dip of the bed as he got back in and curled against her side to return to sleep, but he didn't.

After a few minutes Annie feared it was morning already and opened her eyes prepared for the bright light of day, but she was greeted by darkness and a vision of Auggie sitting by his bedroom window, one hand against the glass.

She got up and joined him, kissing his bare shoulder.

"Is it snowing?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she confirmed wrapping her arms around him to ward off the chill.

"I thought it was," he kept his hand against the cold pane.

"It's beautiful," she told him as she looked out on the white landscape, small sparkly flakes caught in streetlights.

"It snowed so much back home when I was a kid, I loved it. Most of the time now it is a nuisance, screws up traffic, makes it harder to get things done, but every now and then I just want to stand in a field of it, experience it again," his voice betrayed emotion he didn't often show, even to her and she squeezed him tighter.

"Get dressed," Annie whispered.

"It's the middle of the night," he shook his head.

"Only time to really enjoy snow in the city," she reasoned.

So they quickly and quietly put on jeans and sweaters, boots and coats and hats and Annie led him out onto the sidewalk. The plows hadn't made it through yet and there were 10 inches or so of soft fluffy snow on everything.

It was quiet and the air was so crisp and clean that Annie remembered drinking stream water in Belarus, the cold metallic salve to her parched throat, the air had that same restorative balm, it filled her lungs and made her strong.

Auggie trailed a hand along a railing, feeling the cold wet snow, not even minding when it slipped beneath the cuff of his jacket.

"It's getting warmer," Annie remarked as the flakes shifted from small and crystalline to larger and wetter before her very eyes.

Auggie turned his face to it and the flakes caught on his long dark lashes. He smiled like a kid and Annie had to take a deep breath to keep from crying.

"Thanks," he said his own voice raw with nostalgia and love.

Annie said nothing in return, but wrapped her arms around him as the snow fell. After untold minutes she yawned and roused Auggie from his silent observation of nature.

"Let's go," he whispered and tugged her towards the door.

They shed the hats and coats and boots and tamped the loose snow off by the door. Auggie went about heating water and making tea as Annie stretched out on the couch pulling a blanket around her shoulders. They had to work in a few hours, the day certain to be stressful with the reality of the snow in a city that did not handle it well, but Annie was so grateful for the small moments when Auggie revealed his blind world to her that she would not complain the lack of sleep.

He brought the tea to her and joined her under the blanket.

"With five boys the snowball fights were epic and the sledding truly death-defying. We were always finding the highest and most obstacle-filled hills in town. Mom was terrified every time the weatherman predicted a storm," Auggie relayed.

"I always wanted to keep up, since I was the youngest and I took ridiculous chances. I was so lucky I didn't hit a tree. I felt invincible then, like I would live forever."

"You certainly have survived a lot," Annie agreed.

"Well if we learn anything from war it is how very short life truly is," Auggie sighed.

He went on and told her more about his time in Iraq, the boys he saw on their first tours and the career military that had already given their countries so much. How it didn't seem to matter when it came time to die, war took them all. Annie hung on every word, but eventually the soothing tone of Auggie's voice and the warmth of the blanket over her lulled her to sleep.

Auggie took the nearly-empty cup of tea from her hand, wrapped his arms and legs around her slight frame and closed his own eyes.

The end


	12. Too Close

"Annie, get out of there, now," Auggie stated calmly and emphatically over the com in her ear.

"I can get the pictures," she insisted.

"Those chargers are set to blow in 2 minutes, you need to be 100 yards clear. You need to go now," he tried not to sound as frightened as he was.

She continued to snap pictures of the schematics of the weapons system she had been after. She could count to 120 and she knew she could run 100 yards in less than 30 seconds.

Before she could do the math though there was a barrage of gunfire.

"Annie!" he yelled now, damn the emotions.

"I'm going," she replied her breath quick as he knew she was running.

Annie wasn't sure which to be more afraid of, the gunfire or the impending explosion. She put her head down, thought of Auggie and ran. She busted through the side door and while gunfire had been close the men were actually a ways off, she knew they would be caught in the blast and it hurt her, the loss of even enemy life painful for her.

Auggie heard the cacophony in his headphones and closed his eyes, the last 2 minutes seemed very long and while he could hear Annie running and heard the door open there was a lot of gunfire and a massive explosion and now no Annie.

"Annie, report. Annie? What's your 20?"

Barber and Stu were holding their breath.

"I'm OK," she was panting and steeling herself for the scope of her injuries, but they seemed pretty minor.

"Dammit Annie, that was too close," Auggie scrubbed his hand over his face.

"I know, I'm OK though and clear of hostiles, I can make it to the extraction point," she reported as she stood and realized her pursuers did not make it out.

"Barber will talk you through it," Auggie looked towards the younger man and threw his headphones on his desk.

Barber didn't have time to react as he talked Annie through the route to her extraction point. Auggie simultaneously all but ran to the men's room where he fought the nausea threatening to overtake him and splashed some water on his face. Some spy he was, maybe Barber and Stu will think he just really had to pee. That made him actually chuckle as he pulled himself together and returned to his desk.

"Helo picked her up, she'll be here in 4 hours," Barber reported as if nothing odd had just occurred.

"Thanks Barber," Auggie sounded subdued, but OK.

Annie didn't even stop in the locker room to clean up, she didn't even go to the bathroom, the first place she went upon her return to Langley was Tech Ops.

"I'm here," she said and he was up from his chair as she crossed the rooms and launched herself into his arms.

"I'm sorry," she said over and over again.

"I am not coddling you Annie, when I tell you to leave I mean leave. I am not going easy on you, I know when a situation is too hot and you have to trust me. You have to trust that I am balancing the importance of the mission with your safety. You have to let me do my job," he said all of this calmly but sternly without ever letting go of her.

"I know," she nodded so happy to be in his arms and have him on her side.

"Are you bleeding?" he asked his nose catching the metallic scent of it.

"I was and I possibly got some of it on you now," she shrugged but didn't let got still.

"It's OK, as long as you are OK."

"I'm better than OK," she sighed and squeezed just a little harder.

The End


	13. The Dress

Auggie let himself into Annie's guesthouse with the recently gifted key. He hung his coat up and listened for any movement from the room. What he heard struck him as odd.

"What are you wearing?" he asked in a not-particularly-provocative way.

"How in God's name can you tell I am wearing anything?" she asked feeling caught red-handed.

"It sounds like a prom dress, all taffeta and crinoline," he looked very confused.

"I found my dress from Danielle's wedding, I was wondering if it still fit," she shrugged and the puffy sleeve slid even further off her shoulder.

"Does it?' he asked as he made his way over to her.

"It is actually a little big," she took his hands and placed them on her taffeta-covered waist.

"What color is it?" his voice took on that deep quiet tone he used when he touched her and she was momentarily distracted.

"Plum," she sounded shaky as he traced the front of the bodice to reveal the neckline and skimmed his fingers along the flesh there.

"I bet you were beautiful," his words washed over her as his lips followed his fingers along the neckline.

"No one looks beautiful in a bride's maid dress," she reasoned as she threaded her fingers through his hair and held him close.

"I have always wanted to make-out with a bride's maid," he murmured against her skin.

She laughed as he walked her back towards the bed. She flounced back on to the mattress and he reached for her legs, but couldn't find them.

"Wow that is a lot of layers of stuff," he remarked as he felt along the mounds of material.

"Designed to protect the bride's maids from the groom's men I guess," she encouraged him to move up her body, the dress was a lost cause.

Annie was content to lay there kissing him for a very long time, but eventually the dress had to come off.

"How do I? Where's the….?" Auggie was running his hands all over her looking for the way out of the dress.

"Hold on," she rolled over on her stomach and he slid his hands along her back until he found the tiny little hook and eye at the top of the zipper.

"How did you get into this by yourself?" he asked as he attempted the miniscule fastening.

"I just slid it over my head, told you it was a little big," she moaned as his fingers moved against her skin, finally freeing her and lowering the zipper to the base of her spine.

"What prompted this little trip down memory lane?" Auggie asked as his lips replaced his hands on her smooth back.

"Danielle is hoping to sell the house eventually; I need to do something with all my stuff. I got as far as this. At this rate I should be ready to move out by the time I'm forty," she relished the slow gentle way he was seducing her.

"Well if everything you discover results in us naked it's OK with me," he commented as she heard him pull off his shirt.

His hands and lips were replaced by the warmth of his bare torso against her back, as he stretched out along her, kissing her neck.

The End


	14. The Dinner Guest

"I am on solid ground," she smiled into the phone as she noticed the time, only 7:30 pm.

"That is outstanding, you up for dinner and company. I have a friend over," Auggie was pulling up a Thai menu online as he talked.

Annie appreciated that Auggie understood sometimes she just had to decompress after a mission, but this one had been light and the jetlag hadn't kicked in yet. She wanted to see him badly enough to make small talk with a stranger over dinner.

"I'm in, order me whatever," she hung up and hailed a cab.

Auggie ordered the food knowing her flight had brought her to Reagan and not Dulles so the cab ride would be brief. It amazed him how easy and difficult a relationship with an Operative could be, he knew everything about her life which was great and terrifying simultaneously.

Annie could hear laughter as she opened the door and was relieved it was all male. She had feared Auggie's friend was a woman and while she trusted him with her life she sometimes had to reconcile the number of female "friends" he had had before her.

The men stood at her arrival, Auggie greeting her with a kiss. She stowed her bag out of his way and went to meet the friend.

"Annie Walker, this is Private Matthew Harris. Matt, this is my girlfriend Annie Walker," hands were shook and Annie quickly assessed the relationship between the two men.

Matt was about 10 years younger than Auggie, big strong and every bit a soldier.

"Matt is home on leave and dropped in on his favorite former Captain," Auggie explained.

"I am sorry to ruin your homecoming Miss Walker," he blushed and his voice held the slightest Virginia drawl.

"Annie please and it is no bother, it is an honor to meet one of the Army's finest, thank you," she looked him straight in the eye and he understood the weight of her simple words.

Auggie put a hand on her knee and squeezed slightly. Patriotism was in their blood, all 3 of them risked their lives every day for a country they loved, but confessing that and pointing it out always made them uncomfortable, her simple words were all that was needed.

Annie kissed Auggie's cheek and went to get a drink.

"She's as beautiful as you said," Matt shook his head.

"Always trust the blind guy," Auggie grinned.

"Where on earth did a nerd like you, find a woman like that?"

"That is Captain Nerd to you Private and we met…" Auggie trailed off as he never wanted to out Annie.

"…at work," Annie finished, she figured wherever Matt thought Auggie worked was fine with her and if Auggie trusted him with his status she trusted him too.

"Oh," was all Matt said as he nodded his head, he knew.

The food came and Annie was starved and thrilled with Auggie's choices.

"Nice work Auggie," she commented as she piled noodles on her plate.

"Three years of ordering your take out has trained me well," he smiled.

"Three years?" Matt asked suddenly curious.

"We've known each other for 3 years, but have only been dating for 3 months," Auggie clarified.

"Huh," matt kept his opinions to himself.

"I'm not sure how she kept her hands off of me either, but what can I say, women!" Auggie shrugged.

"Has he always been like this?" Annie asked with an arched brow.

"Yes, yes he has," Matt confirmed.

The End


	15. Valentine

"Where are you?" Danielle asked as she heard rustling and zippers, "and are you alone?"

"Yes, I am alone. I am in the dressing room at Victoria's Secret though, so you caught me literally with my pants down," Annie laughed.

"Ahhh those early romance days when what underwear you have on matters," Danielle sighed.

"Yes, but Auggie is a bit of a challenge. I can't just look good, he reacts differently to textures and fastenings, he loves a challenge, if I wear a button down shirt watch out" Annie grinned as she fussed with snaps and laces.

"I hadn't thought of that," Danielle agreed.

"Well I hope you haven't been thinking in too much detail about my sex life," Annie pointed out.

"Trust me, I try not to think about it all, but I do find Auggie fascinating."

"Oddly mesmerizing?" Annie offered.

"Yeah, that's it exactly," Danielle concurred.

"He is, his mind works so differently. I am torn between desperately wishing I knew him before the war and so incredibly in love with who he is now."

"Awwww," Dani fawned over the phone.

"Yeah, I am that girl, cooing over a man and buying lingerie for Valentine's Day. I kind of hate myself," Annie smiled in the mirror despite the words.

"Oh crap, Valentine's Day," Danielle announced.

"It's not until next week, but since I never know what continent I am going to be on at any given time I plan on celebrating it tonight. Knock on wood," she rapped her knuckles against the wall of the dressing room.

"It seems like every night has been Valentine's Day for you two."

"We have had plenty of nights of sitting around in sweatpants and falling asleep on the coach," Annie laughed.

"Oh good, so you are a normal couple after all."

"As normal as we can be," Annie sighed.

"Well enjoy and if you are still on the continent call me over the weekend. Love you," Danielle made kissing noises into the phone.

"Love you too, bye," Annie hung up and surveyed herself in the mirror, pleased with the end result.

The phone rang again as she was pulling on her jacket. She smiled at the display.

"Hey," she cooed.

"Hey yourself, where'd you go?"

"Quick errand, I was planning to come back for you. You were in with Joan and post-it notes on your monitor don't really help," she grinned.

"I thought you abandoned me on a Friday," he teased.

"Never and I think you might just be interested in my errand," she hinted.

"Oh really?" his eye brow arched.

Just as Annie emerged from the dressing room a sales lady approached another customer.

"Here is that demi-cup in a 32 C," she presented it to the woman near Annie.

"Oh yeah, I am most definitely intrigued now," Auggie laughed.

"Get ready, I'll be there for you in 20 minutes," Annie hung up without saying good-bye, a habit she seemed to have picked up from him.

The End


	16. Valentine Part 2

Author's Note: I live in Boston and we are in the midst of quite a blizzard. I am posting tomorrow's chapter tonight in case the power goes out! A couple folks asked for Part 2 of Valentine and this one gets a little racy, but not too graphic.

Auggie cleared the dinner dishes and turned and leaned back against the sink, his arms folded across his chest, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows.

"When do I get my present?' he waggled his eyebrows in a comical fashion.

"What makes you think you are getting a present?" Annie asked as she reached around him to get the bottle of wine and pour herself a little more.

She barely stepped back, their bodies very close, a shared heat mingling between them.

"Your earlier 'errand' has had my imagination going for the past couple hours."

"Oh really?" she asked as she sipped the red wine and put her free hand warm against his side.

"Mmmmm hmmm," he smiled and leaned down resting his forehead against hers.

"We should, umm, do something about that," she cleared her throat and leaned the centimeters forward to capture his lips.

The kiss was slow and deep, Auggie's hands sliding up the column of her neck and trailing behind her ears tilting her head to give him a better angle that made her moan. The vibration from her moan was returned as a growl that Annie could feel in Auggie's chest, pressed as it was against her own.

Finally, she extracted herself with a series of soft short kisses and gathered her wits and her breath.

"If you keep that up we'll never get to the surprise," she admonished but the gravel in her voice betrayed her own desire.

"You surprise me every day, always have," he whispered in her ear as he kissed her temple.

That was almost her undoing, her knees shaking.

"Why don't we relocate this little discussion?" she suggested as she took his hands and lead him out of the kitchen, turning the lights off behind them.

Annie grabbed her shopping bag and ducked off to the bathroom as Auggie moved about the bedroom, removing his shoes and his watch. Annie emerged to find him sitting on the end of the bed, his dress shirt partially unbuttoned, his feet bare. She stepped forward and nudged his knees apart enough for her to stand between them.

He reached for her and she caught his hands midair.

"Uh uh uh, just a second there mister," she kissed his knuckles.

"You smell so good," the growl was back.

"Honeysuckle," she commented as she placed his hands on her hips.

"Lace," he said it so softly it was more of a sound than a word.

"Yep," she smiled as his hands travelled down to her legs, the transition from lace to skin to silk stockings evident on his face.

"Wow," was all he could say as his fingers tried to decide which fabric he wanted to touch more, the fastenings of the garters giving him pause.

"There's more," she laughed when he looked up towards her his desire so obvious it was hard to believe the man was a spy, he couldn't hide anything from her.

His hands skimmed back up over her bare sides to the most expensive bra Annie had ever bought, the lace was gorgeous and the edge was scalloped, his fingers tracing each bump and dip, setting her entire body on fire.

"Wow," he repeated.

"You said that already," she smiled and leaned forward to rake her fingers through his hair bringing him closer to the lace cups.

"It needed repeating," he mentioned as his lips nipped at the bare skin along her rib cage.

"I adore you," she tugged his chin up to kiss him properly.

"You are so beautiful," he said it so sincerely it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Before she could respond he stood and scooped her up and deposited her in the middle of the bed. He drove her crazy exploring every inch of her ensemble before he let her return the favor.

Later, the black lace and silk scattered around the room Auggie turned to his bedside table and pulled out a small box with a simple red bow.

"This is for you," he said, his voice soft and gravelly from exertion.

"Really?" Annie sat up and pulled the sheets up around her as she leaned back against the headboard.

"Yep," he was stretched out on his side, his head in his hand.

She untied the bow and took the top off the box.

"I don't assume to pretend I am the only man you have ever loved. I know you have your bracelet from Ben and the key to Simon's steamer trunk and I appreciate that they are a part of your past. This is for the future, our future, it goes with the key I gave you," he explained.

She lifted the silver key chain from the box, a simple rectangle with the loop at the end for the keys. The silver raised in what Annie assumed is Braille.

"What does it say?" her voice watery.

Auggie sat up then and wrapped his arms around her, holding her hand and running her fingers over the letters.

"It says 'Always'," he translated.

Annie was quiet and Auggie knew it was a good quiet.

"No matter what, you are always welcome here, always. I imagine there will be many more gifts in small boxes, but no matter what, you are always welcome here."

She nodded, not trusting her voice any longer.

The End


	17. Flashback

Author's Note: World Leader Pretend is one of my favorite eps, thought it would be fun to look back on it now that our favorite duo is together.

"I think this one is yours," Annie slid the file folder towards Auggie.

"Yep," he agreed as he flipped the folder open to find braille documents.

Auggie handed her the copy with the typed documents and Annie grinned when she saw what case it was.

"Shen Yu, we're declassifying this one?"

"Yes, the NSC has closed the case on Xi Pang, just review the reports and make sure that everything is in place," Joan instructed and left the 2 of them alone.

Annie filtered through all the email communications from the early days with Shen, her medical records and Shen's torn between the happy memories of Auggie's arms around her in the waiting room and the sorrow she felt when Shen succumbed to the radiation poisoning.

"Aha!" she exclaimed.

"Yes Miss Walker?' Auggie asked amused.

"You were there waiting for me all night," she pointed to the hospital report.

"Busted," he smiled.

"I was so touched to see you there, you looked so adorable asleep on those chairs," she reached out and squeezed his hand.

"I was terrified," he looked down slightly embarrassed.

His blatant honesty stunned her and she squeezed the hand again and cleared her throat.

It was a couple minutes later that Annie chuckled.

"You sure gave Steve Barr the run around," she noted as she read the transcript of Auggie's interrogation at the State Department.

"He is an ass and he deserved the inane responses I gave him," Auggie argued calmly as he moved his fingers across another document.

"You broke up with Doctor Scott? How did I miss that?"

"That's in the file?" Annie asked confused.

"Everything is in the file, you know that," he shook his head.

Annie read the report of her confrontation with Xi Pang, remembering it like it was yesterday. She was beaten and scared until she summoned her strength and remembered the moves Auggie had taught her just a day or so before.

"Do you know how many times you have saved me?" she asked quietly.

"I've gotten you out of a scrape or two," he responded equally subdued.

"Not just the extractions. You've taught me how to defend myself, how to trust myself, how to keep my head in the game when I could easily spiral out of control. I was so upset about Danielle by the end of this case I almost gave up, but it was the feel of your hands on my shoulders and your voice in my ear telling me how to fight back that resonated above it all," she had inched closer to him and was whispering now in case there were any extra ears in the room.

"I wanted to take you home and wrap you up and keep you safe from everything at the end of this case. I wanted to kiss you and tell you it would all be OK with Danielle and I wanted to…" he trailed off as he shook his head.

"What?" she prodded him.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter, I didn't do any of those things," he seemed sad.

"Why not?" she remembered how much she wanted to do just the same.

"I thought you were still with Scott, I thought you only thought of me as a friend, I wasn't willing to risk this," he indicated the work in front of them.

"I had fallen in love with you by then, I would have been very open to your pursuit," she confessed.

"I know that now, but I don't regret it. You needed to figure out things with Danielle and you needed to get your head in the game for work."

"We could have avoided Parker and the heartache she caused both of us," Annie was getting bold.

Auggie looked up at those words.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he reached for her face and she moved towards his hand.

"Right back at you," she laughed mirthlessly remembering how easily she fell into Simon's bed and he into her heart.

"Let's finish this so we can go home," he tapped the file, but caressed her face before turning his attention back to the work.

The End


	18. Vacation Part 1

Late on a Friday afternoon, Annie's desk phone rang and she looked up and could see Auggie with the receiver to his ear.

"Hello," she smiled.

"Do you have your real passport in the office?"

"Yeah, I moved it to my safe here after Danielle found it that time," she was curious.

"Wanna go on vacation?" Auggie's voice had that devilish tone that made her want to do all sorts of things.

"With you?"

"Um, yes, with me," he snickered.

"Sure, but we haven't really packed," she couldn't figure out if he was serious.

"Our emergency bag is in the car, that will cover essentials, we can buy everything else when we get there," it all sounded so logical.

"Did you win the lottery and failed to tell me?" she laughed but began powering down her computer.

"Nope, got a really good deal on the tickets, have a friend who owes me a huge favor and begged Joan to give us Monday off all in the last 15 minutes, flight is at 7:00, what do you say?"

"I would go anywhere in the world with you Auggie," she hung up completely intrigued and began organizing her desk for a long weekend away.

"Have a nice trip Annie," Joan mentioned as she passed by and dropped a memo.

"Do you know where I'm going?" Annie asked as she scanned the memo.

"I do, have fun," Joan gave her no hints.

Auggie had called the car service so they didn't need to park Annie's car at the airport. She grabbed the bag he mentioned and a few other things from her car and slid into the black SUV.

Auggie told the driver to take them to National, Delta terminal and squeezed Annie's hand.

"OK Anderson, fess up, where are we going?"

Auggie reached into the messenger bag and withdrew a folded flight itinerary, handing it over.

"Bermuda?"

"Oh good, I bought the right tickets," Auggie smiled innocently.

"We're going to Bermuda?"

"In two hours, yes," he kissed her cheek.

They checked their meager luggage, grabbed a sandwich and awaited a flight to paradise.

"I've never been to Bermuda," Annie commented as she flipped through the guidebook she bought in the gift shop, along with a pair of flip flops and some sunglasses as she had neither with her that cold DC February day.

"Me either and it is only an hour away, seems criminal," Auggie commented as he stole her chips.

"It's only in the 70's she commented as she checked her phone for weather, but lots of sun," Annie was psyched as her last two missions had been to Eastern Europe, in the winter, this was just what she needed.

"The ocean might be a little chilly for swimming, but the beaches should nice for walking and the pools are all heated," Auggie mentioned.

"Pools?"

"There are 3," he grinned.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Blind guy has to have some secrets."

The flight boarded on time and Annie snuggled against Auggie's side as they lifted off from icy DC to a tiny little island off the coast of North Carolina.

TBC…


	19. Vacation Part 2

Author's Note: Bermuda is my favorite place on the planet.

Bermuda's airport was smaller than Danielle's house and they got through all the arrival red tape with no problem. Auggie had arranged a car and a man in a suit was awaiting them. It was dark out and while there was not a ton of residual light the moon hung bright and clear over the ocean and Annie could make out the curve of the island.

It was cool, but not cold and the air had that combination of sea salt and floral smell that Auggie loved. He knew this was a good idea from the moment he thought of it, but now, with this woman at his side he truly relaxed.

The car eventually reached its destination after climbing a windy drive. Annie saw the logo and tried not to squeal like a little girl, composing herself she had to ask…

"What kind of favor does your friend owe you?" she whispered against his ear.

"A big one," he replied.

The driver grabbed their sad little suitcase without a second though and led them inside.

"Auggie!" a distinguished man in a suit was across the room as they entered the lobby of the Fairmont South Hampton.

"George," Auggie smiled and reached out as the man shook his hand.

"I am so glad you are here," he smiled even wider and pulled Auggie into a hug.

"Very glad to be here George, this is Annie," Auggie introduced.

"Miss Walker, a pleasure to meet you. I am George Cavanaugh, welcome to the Fairmont South Hampton."

"Thank you, it is truly magnificent," Annie gushed honestly as she looked around the opulent lobby.

"Follow me," he offered Annie his arm and Auggie held her other per usual.

Annie noticed they hadn't really checked in, but the man clearly worked there as he waved to staff as they passed. In the elevator he handed Annie a key packet and slipped a master key into the slot on the elevator panel.

"You will need your key to access your floor," he explained as he hit the 10th floor.

"How is the family George?" Auggie asked as they made their way up to 10.

"Wonderful, Genevieve sends her best and the kids are very well."

Annie was so curious, but still in a daze by the whole experience.

They exited on 10 and George led them to a room at the end of the hall. Room turned out to be a bit of an understatement as it was larger than Auggie's apartment.

"Oh my god," Annie couldn't control her comment, it just slipped out.

"It is our jewel," George beamed.

"You didn't need to do that George," Auggie felt bad.

"It is the off season, no one was going to be using it, glad to share it with you old friend," George squeezed Auggie's arm and that was the end of that.

Annie looked around the rooms that made up the suite with awe. The living room was both elegant and comfortable at the same time, the dining room sat 6 and Annie noted 2 places set with food on a side board. The bedroom was exquisite with an enormous bathroom off of it and a walk in closet open to reveal their suitcase and some other items.

"Alissa, my head concierge, sent up some items from the shops per your email Auggie. If anything needs to be altered or exchanged she will be available in the morning. I had some wine and a light dinner sent up, it is in the dining room and I have arranged breakfast to be delivered at 9:00. If you are up earlier there is coffee and pastry in the lounge at the other end of this hall. I am sure you are tired, I do hope we can have lunch during your stay."

"George, thank you very much, this is really too much," Auggie said sincerely.

"There is no such thing as too much for you Auggie. Miss Walker, enjoy your stay," George smiled and was gone before Annie could find her voice again.

Annie tried not to surprise Auggie too much, sneaking up on a blind guy wasn't as fun as one would think. She couldn't help it though, she all but leapt into his arms. He caught on quick though and wrapped his arms around her. She kissed him deeply, pouring the dozens of things she wanted to say into that one kiss.

"Mmmmm," he moaned against her lips, "what should we explore first: bed, dining room, tub?" he listed their options.

She didn't answer him, just pulled him towards the bed.

TBC…


	20. Vacation Part 3

Auggie woke alone in the very large bed. He could feel the warmth of sunlight, feel a breeze and smell the ocean. There was the low thin cry of sea birds, vacation was nice, except for the alone in bed thing. He made his way to the bathroom and found a terrycloth robe hanging on the door, he then headed towards the source of the breeze.

"Morning," he heard the clink of china as Annie set down a coffee cup and greeted him.

"Morning," he replied as she brushed his hand with hers and helped him take a seat at the small table on the balcony.

He kissed her and was confused to find she was crying.

"What's the matter?" he asked as he kissed her a little more for good measure.

"I wish you could see this," she sniffled a little as she rested her forehead against his willing the beautiful images into his brain directly.

"Me too, but experiencing you experiencing it will be enough, it is enough," he tried to reassure her, "tell me about it."

"From here we can see over the pool and the golf course down to the beach, the sky is one shade of blue and the water is this perfect turquoise, the sand is really pink and the trees are so lush even this time of year. It is gorgeous. There are houses in every color possible with white roofs dotting the horizon. There are these amazing birds," her voice was reverent.

"I could hear the birds when I woke up, alone by the way…."

"You were sleeping so soundly I didn't have the heart to wake you," Annie poured him a cup of coffee.

"What time is it?"

"Does it matter, we're on vacation," she sighed.

"I guess it doesn't. What would you like to do today?" he changed his question as his stomach rumbled.

"Feed you, then get my toes in that sand down there," she kissed his cheek and headed inside to fix him some breakfast.

Room service had arrived as George promised at 9:00, everything was warm in the dining room and Annie assembled a couple of plates and brought them to the balcony.

"Thank you," Auggie kissed her again as she presented him his meal.

"So I made an appointment to get my nails done later and the woman in the spa wouldn't take my credit card, she said anything I wanted was covered. What exactly did you do for George?" Annie asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later," Auggie answered vaguely and if Annie didn't know better she would have thought he was looking around.

The clothes George had sent up were perfect and Annie assumed expensive, but there were no price tags to verify that. They got dressed and headed down to the lobby around 11:00.

The same gentleman who picked them up in the airport was working the bell stand and immediately approached them.

"Mr. Anderson, Miss Walker good morning can I help you with something?"

"Good morning Andrew," Annie read the man's name off his nametag for Auggie's benefit, "we would love to go down to the beach."

"I would be happy to drive you down, the shuttle is very infrequent this time of year," he offered and ushered them out to a fancy little golf cart.

It was a short ride, but the road was narrow and winding and steep. The cart pulled up to a canopied walkway.

"The restaurant and the bar do open at noon if you want to have lunch down here. The regular shuttle runs on the half hour, but if you miss one and want to come back sooner just pick up that phone," he indicated the call box near the walkway.

Annie and Auggie thanked Andrew and followed the walkway out onto a gorgeous and secluded beach. The crescent of pink sand pristine, the water as gorgeous up close as it was from the balcony, the cliffs rising behind them.

"Wow," was all Annie could muster.

They walked for a little while, hand in hand. Annie carried her shoes and let the waves lap at her feet, the water cool but not unpleasant. The only sound the sea and the birds.

"Are we alone?" Auggie asked in his work voice.

"Yes," Annie was concerned that it wasn't his romantic voice.

"Completely?"

"There are a few restaurant employees a good distance, I can't hear them so I imagine they can't hear us," she took stock of their surroundings.

"I want to tell you about George."

Relieved that there wasn't something currently wrong she lead him to an alcove of rocks and they sat side by side.

"It was one of my first missions with the agency…." Auggie began.

TBC


	21. Vacation Part 4

Annie was by nature a curious person, anyone in her line of work would be, but the level of curiosity she had about Auggie as an Operative was off the charts. She had tried to read some of his files, but a lot of them were still classified and above her clearance.

"Bermuda is known for its banking, many a millionaire uses it as a tax haven and where there is money there are criminals. In this case a drug czar from Columbia. He was visiting the island quite a bit, enjoying accommodations like those we have and George, being as helpful as he is wound up doing a few favors for this thug. It evolved into a Vivian Long-like situation," Auggie was trying to say as much as he could and give Annie enough info to fill in the blanks.

Annie remembered her time in London with Vivian who had quickly gotten in over her head and she understood the situation just fine.

"What happened?" she asked as she rubbed circles on his knee.

"George's wife, who was pregnant at the time and his young daughter were kidnapped, held on a boat rigged to explode. I defused the bomb, got them out safely, the FBI got the drug czar and George got his life back. I helped keep him out of jail, he kept his job as the GM of that beautiful hotel and he has 2 lovely children now," Auggie shrugged.

It was nice to be able to talk in shorthand, he knew with those few sentences that Annie knew the danger and the risk Auggie took in getting Genevieve and the little girl out. She understood the finesse he had to use with the FBI to keep George out of trouble, she knew how grateful George was, and everything made sense.

"That was over 10 years ago, you have never come back to cash in that favor?" Annie asked intrigued.

"Never had anyone to bring with me, who would truly understand," he reached for her and kissed her soundly.

"We still alone?" he mumbled against her lips his voice back to romantic.

She just nodded and leaned back on the sun-warmed rock as she pulled him down on top of her. Even their kisses were more leisurely on vacation, the urgency of work intruding at any moment gone for a couple blissful days. Finally the squeal of a small child interrupted them and Annie peeked over Auggie's shoulder to see a couple of kids trying to fly a kite. Luckily their spot was somewhat concealed so the pair was able to adjust their clothes without an audience.

The day proved warm enough for cocktails on the beach and after the third rum-based treat Annie was tempted to go swimming in the ocean.

"I love the ocean," she mentioned still seated on her lounge chair.

"Yeah?" Auggie knew she had a thing for beaches, but no idea why particularly.

"We moved so much with the Army, but my grandparents lived on Cape Cod for my whole childhood and every summer Dani and I stayed with them, no matter where my dad was stationed. That house and that beach were the only permanent thing about my life for the first 18 years."

Auggie stayed quiet, Annie so rarely spoke about her family he didn't want to break the spell.

"Danielle had a little gaggle of girlfriends who hated me, I was just a nuisance so I spent a lot of time by myself in the water and in the tide pools. It was an awesome beach for a kid. No matter how sad I was, how alone I felt, looking out at the ocean always made me realize how magnificent life was, how great nature could be, you know?"

"I don't actually, I grew up in a land-locked state, didn't see the ocean until I was in college and I was always slightly terrified of it," Auggie admitted.

"You just have to respect it, like anything else, if you fail to show it the proper respect it can kick you on your ass," she laughed.

"You have your bathing suit on don't you?" Auggie smirked.

"Yep," he heard the sound of fabric as she stripped her shirt off.

"Don't come crying to me to warm you up when you are freezing…" he threatened.

"Like you would turn me away," she scoffed.

"Awful cocky there Walker?"

"You can't resist me," she leaned in close to kiss him, his hands finding delicious bare skin where the bathing suit yielded.

"Watch out for sharks," he whispered.

"Bermuda is a volcanic island, plenty of reefs, no shark attacks in almost 100 years," she informed.

"You know what I love about you?"

"Is there only one thing?" she pouted.

"Um, no, but one of the things I love about you is your intelligence gathering capabilities, you use them all the time."

"I read the guide book this morning while you were still sleeping," she explained as her voice trailed off into a laugh.

Auggie wished for his sight all the time, but right now it physically hurt that he could not see Annie walking away in a bathing suit towards a turquoise blue sea.

TBC…


	22. Vacation Part 5

"Do you think George will let us stay here forever?" Annie asked casually as she kissed her way along Auggie's ribcage on the morning of their departure.

"He probably would, but we need to go back to DC," Auggie replied as he sifted his fingers through Annie's hair.

"I see no real reason to leave at the moment," she tried to up her amorous game to convince him.

"Annie, I would love nothing more than to spend every day in paradise with you, but how many other Georges and Vivians are out there? How many bad guys are left to stop? And you would get bored after a month or two," his laugh turned to a moan as she nipped at his collar bone.

"I know, but we can come back, right?" she whispered in his ear and that was his undoing.

He flipped her on her back, trying to focus his eyes on hers and smiled a wicked smile.

"Annie Walker, I will take you anywhere you want to go," and he kissed her so deeply her toes curled into the blissfully soft mattress.

"Can we take this bed home?" she asked later as they stretched out diagonally across it.

"I am not a master of interior design and spacial relations, but I don't think this bed would fit in either of our apartments," he sighed.

"Yeah, that is probably true and neither of us can afford a place big enough to accommodate this bed in the DC area," she laughed.

"Not that this isn't a perfectly acceptable way to spend our last day of vacation, but we have several hours before our flight, perhaps we should get up?" Auggie suggested.

"Mmmmm, I want one more swim in that salt water pool and Andrew offered us a ride over to St. George's before our flight," Annie sat up and Auggie instantly regretted encouraging her.

Annie returned from her swim refreshed to find George and Auggie chatting in the living room of the suite. The two men were considering heading down for lunch, but happily agreed to wait for her to shower and change.

Seated on the terrace full of delicious food and with a glass of wine in hand Annie tried to soak it all in before they left Southampton.

"I feel like a new person," she announced with a smile.

"Bermuda will do that for you," George agreed.

"We really cannot thank you enough," Auggie patted his friend on the back.

"It was all my pleasure. I understand Andrew is taking you to St. George's today, great old part of the island, you'll enjoy it very much. I do hope you will come back," George grinned mischievously, as if anyone could refuse a return to Bermuda.

"I am concerned she might handcuff herself to a post and refuse to come home with me," Auggie smirked.

"You are very good incentive to return to DC eventually," Annie teased back as she patted his hand.

"Unfortunately I have a meeting I cannot get out of, but Andrew will take good care of you this afternoon and I hope to see you both back soon," George departed with a handshake for Auggie and a kiss of Annie's cheek.

"In all seriousness Auggie, we have to do this every few months, maybe not here, but somewhere, we need to go away from work and just spend a few days being us. I love that we get to spend so much time together, that you know nearly everything about my work, that we can squeeze in small moments of comfort and affection in the midst of a crazy work day, but this is important too," she still had her hand on his and he turned his and laced their fingers together.

"Nothing, is more important than this Annie, but I have every faith we can do both," he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

The End (of Vacation….back to random one shots tomorrow)

Author's Note: Bermuda is my favorite place on the planet, if you ever have the chance to go, do it.


	23. Service

Author's Note: A President's Day special for those of you in the US.

One of the best parts of working with your boyfriend is shared long work hours and a true understanding of the ridiculous hours the CIA demands. Both Annie and Auggie were on their second 12 hour shift, Auggie helping with an Op in Syria and Annie on the Iraqi watch desk.

Annie was proud of her abilities, but she knew there were some areas where Auggie was the better operative and Iraq was one of those areas. She was analyzing a keyhole satellite photo and translating an email and something seemed off, she looked up and Auggie seemed busy but not frantic, so she decided to try and bring it to him.

"Hey," she slid the glass door open.

"Hey yourself," he smiled and raised his coffee cup in salute.

"I know you are on an Op, but do you have a sec?"

"Wanna make out?" he smirked and she smacked him in the back of the head with the file folder, but then rubbed the spot gently savoring the warmth of his scalp..

"Always, but I actually have something more pressing…" she told him about the intel she had and their 24 hour day stretched well into the next.

Annie had stumbled upon an Iraqi insurgent cell with some truly awful plans. Their network was clever and the intel was fractured for maximum secrecy, but Annie had pulled together all of the threads and Auggie had tied them up nicely. Their work made its way to Arthur and he sent it directly to the Situation Room of the White House. Annie and Auggie were dismissed to sleep for a couple days.

Two days later they were back at their desks when Joan called them both to Arthur's office. Arthur offered them a seat and made small talk with his eyes darting to his phone. Finally a light blinked and Arthur picked up the handset.

"Hello? Yes Sir, I will put you on speaker phone," he hit a button and smiled.

"Agent Walker, Captain Anderson I offer you the thanks of a grateful nation," the President of the United States had a pretty recognizable voice.

"Thank you Sir," the two stunned operatives tried to remember protocol.

"Thanks to your intelligence the lives of many US military and untold Iraqi civilians were saved," the President continued.

"Agent Walker made the connection Sir," Auggie offered.

"That is very generous of you Captain Anderson, but I am well aware of your service and sacrifice for this nation. Arthur detailed the cooperative effort this intelligence required."

"Thank you Sir," Auggie was in soldier mode and Annie had to make sure she didn't jump him while the President was listening in.

"My pleasure, this is a preferable phone call to the ones I would have had to make if these insurgents had succeeded. Mothers, fathers and spouses will not be hearing from me today thanks to you two. Have a good day."

"Thank you Sir," everyone in the room echoed and then the phone went dead.

"Congratulations. The President is signing commendations too, they'll be in your files," Arthur explained.

"Thank you Sir," the pair said in unison and stood to leave.

"It was really fine work," Joan added with a smile.

Annie returned the smile and led Auggie out of the office. Just outside the door Annie flattened her back against the wall to keep herself upright.

"Did that just happen?"

"It did," Auggie replied equally dazed.

"I think this counts as a good day at work," Annie laughed and pushed off the wall.

"Beer at Allen's?" Auggie suggested even though it was barely 6:00 pm.

"Hell yes," Annie treaded her arm through his and turned them towards the exit.

The End


	24. Nicknames

Auggie handed Annie her coffee as she put her earrings on, they were running late again, the only downside so far to their relationship.

"Thanks, Gumdrop," she kissed him softly.

"Gumdrop?" he snorted.

"No?"

"No."

***555***

It was nearly midnight before Annie and Auggie saw each other again. Annie was organizing her desk for the night when he stumbled out of Tech Ops yawning.

"Ready to head home, Pumpkin?" she offered him her arm.

He nodded before wrinkling his brow.

"Pumpkin?"

"Too ubiquitous?"

"Something like that yeah," he grinned.

***555***

Exhaustion aside Auggie had a whole day of not touching Annie to make up for and his hands were all over her the minute they got in the door.

"It's late," she commented as his lips trailed down her neck.

"Are you saying you don't want to do this?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I'm just saying this is why we have trouble getting out of here in the mornings, we need to be asleep in an hour…"

"An hour? I am flattered, it is likely going to be more like 15 minutes," he remarked as he pulled her back towards the bed.

Thirty minutes later Annie laughed as Auggie attempted to control his breathing.

"That was fun, Sugar Plum," she purred.

"Oh that is just cheating," he remarked remembering a time he had called her that exact same thing.

"Lamb chop?"

"No, no, no no no…." he shook his head the curls slightly damp from their earlier activities.

"Cupcake?"

"Are you hungry, cause these are all food-related?" he rolled over to their recently-adopted sleeping positions.

Annie settled herself against his side, her leg looped over his, her hand migrating to the spot where his heart thumped steadily.

"How about Cuddles?"

"Sounds like a hamster, next?"

"I am thinking you are not taking this endeavor as seriously as you should," she laughed.

"Oh I am taking it exactly as seriously as I should. I am perfectly happy with you calling me Auggie," he took her hand from his chest and kissed her fingers one at a time.

"But I've always called you Auggie, shouldn't there be some new level of intimacy now?"

"I am pretty sure we have that covered."

She laughed and yawned at the same time.

"Annie, I have heard you say my name in every possible way: happy, sad, silly, teasing, concerned, frightened, angry, passionate. I have heard you scream it in exasperation and ecstasy, I prefer the latter by the way, but from the very first time you said it and every time since I have loved the way you say it. I don't need a term of endearment, ok?"

She didn't reply just leaned up and kissed him soundly before returning her head to its spot on his chest.

The End


	25. Fabrication

"Annie, remember the first time I sent you to Paris?" Joan asked off-handedly.

"Yes," Annie answered cautiously as she eyed the folders in Joan's hands.

"Or the time I sent you both out in the field together?" that memory not quite as sweet for Annie as it ended with Auggie proposing to Parker.

"What's up Joan?" Auggie asked curiously.

"Oh I am just going to say it….I am sending you both on a mission…to Las Vegas," she thrust the folders towards them.

"What?" Annie laughed as she took the folder and quickly realized it was Auggie's

She traded the braille docs for her own and scanned the mission quickly.

"I need some intelligence gathered, the mission requires some Russian language skills and some high tech gadgetry, we have a good cover in place for a couple. I am not leveraging your feelings for one another, but you certainly played married fine before you were whatever you are now," Joan waved dismissively in the general direction of her agents who stood even closer to one another these days.

Auggie was running his fingers over the report and frowning.

"These are some seriously bad dudes, what are they doing in Vegas?"

"What does anyone do in Vegas, partying, drinking gambling, wasting the spoils of war, literally," Joan sighed.

"This is fairly dangerous," Annie noted.

"Not if your covers hold. We simply need you to get close enough to each of them to slip them the compound. Alcohol flows pretty readily in Vegas, it will work. Get down to Fabrication, we want you as a well-documented Manhattan power couple, hope you are feeling highly photogenic today," Joan dismissed them.

"Chechen rebels living it up in Vegas, sounds like the plot of a Bruce Willis movie," Annie snorted as they made their way down to Fabrication.

"Hello Mr. & Mrs., let's get some wedding shots shall we?" Marcus from Fab had a veil in his hand when he greeted Annie and Auggie in the photo lab.

While Annie and Auggie were not hiding their relationship they also were not flaunting it. Those that knew them knew about it and the rest of the agency didn't have reason to be in the loop. Spies were private for a reason. So Marcus was probably thrown for a loop when Annie grabbed Auggie's wardrobe for the shoot and wheeled it into her dressing room. There was a lot to get done and they would move faster together.

It took hours to get all the photos done, wedding, vacations, company profile shots, everything that would be needed to create websites, Facebook pages and return decent results on a Google search.

The last batch was "beach" photos with a Hawaiian green screen.

"I need a different bathing suit," Annie noted her voice dropping low.

"What's wrong?" Auggie reached for her shoulder and found bare skin; he followed it to a string tied around her neck.

"My um, my scars are visible," she tried to shake off the dread.

"OK," Auggie just squeezed her shoulder and went to get a runner to find another suit.

"Sorry, just would be hard to explain how a socialite from New York had 2 gunshot wounds center mass," Annie took the beach wrap that went with the bikini and covered herself as they waited.

"Every part of you is perfect, you know that right?" he leaned to kiss her as the intern knocked on the door.

Annie thanked the young woman who smiled at her sadly. She changed quickly and Auggie returned to his investigation of her outfit.

"This feels sufficiently skimpy for vacationing with me," he nodded his approval and she laughed.

Their travel docs were ready when they made it back upstairs.

"Marvin? My name is Marvin?" Auggie snorted after Barber gave him the paperwork.

"I'm Annette, did we fall into 1950 somehow?"

"Annette works, I can still call you Annie, I won't make any mistakes when we…ooof" Auggie grinned as Annie whacked him in the stomach.

"Marvin and Annette Williams live on the Upper East Side. Marvin you own and operate Williams Global Imports and you are about to go Public, congratulations," Barber chuckled.

"The real money in the family belongs to Annette though, only daughter of Randolph Jennings a wealthy mining magnet from Andorra…"

"There are like 12 people in Andorra won't that cover get blown pretty fast," Annie argued.

"Trust Fabrication, you are covered. You just have to go to Vegas and pretend to be rich and in love, man this job sucks some times," Barber sighed.

"I suppose if I get the girl and the money I can live with the name Marvin for a few days," Auggie shrugged and slid the docs in his bag.

The End


	26. Layover

Author's note: Someone wanted some Danielle, here you go!

"I can't believe you are here," Danielle hugged Annie tightly.

"You can thank Auggie, I was surprised to see my return trip had a 4 hour lay-over in San Fran," Annie smiled as she gestured the waiter to get Danielle a drink.

"That man is a keeper. I wish the girls could be here, but they left for a Girl Scout weekend on Thursday," Danielle pulled out her phone though to share some recent photos.

"I miss them so much," Annie tried to express her emotion without guilting Danielle for taking them so far away.

"So where are you coming from?" Dani asked casually.

"The South Pacific," was as specific as Annie would be.

"Are you OK?" she looked her sister up and down and saw no visible signs of injury.

"Perfectly fine, it was a simple job, done early hence the 4 hour vacation," Annie raised her glass of wine in a toast.

"Good and I don't want to talk about work. How's Auggie?"

"Really good," Annie blushed and sipped her wine.

"You are so cute, you looooove him," Danielle teased and Annie remembered sharing a room with her through the most traumatic of her pre-teen years.

"More than I ever thought possible," Annie replied seriously.

"I knew it! Or hoped it anyway. From the moment I met him at the Smithsonian until I found him asleep at your bedside after the thing. I knew you were meant to be together, to be happy and my god will you make beautiful children…" Danielle wandered off in thought.

"Hold your horses there Auntie Danielle, no one is talking about children or even marriage, our lives aren't really conducive to that right now."

"But this is more than a hot steamy coworker fling, right?"

"How do you know it is so hot and steamy?" Annie arched her eyebrow.

"Did I mention I have met Auggie?"

Annie laughed and thanked the waiter who dropped their appetizers off along with second glasses of wine.

"It is definitely more than a fling. If I wanted a fling with Auggie I would have had one long before now, trust me the desire for that wasn't new."

"Well yeah, I told you that in Stockholm."

"By Stockholm I knew I loved him, I wanted him about 37 seconds after meeting him," Annie clarified.

"That's fair. I am a married woman who was surrounded by 3rd graders and I kind of wanted him the minute I met him too," Danielle confessed.

"Dani, you cannot have inappropriate thoughts about my boyfriend, we are not in high school anymore."

"I did not want Tommy Henderson," Danielle objected and then dissolved into giggles.

Four hours was hardly enough time, but Annie left SFO refreshed and rejuvenated for having seen her sister. She slept in bits and pieces on the red eye, but was happy she was not expected in the office until lunch time.

She slid the door to Auggie's apartment open shortly after 5:30, the light was just starting to change over to morning, but it was still dark enough to sleep. She tucked her suitcase out of harm's way and slipped her clothes off before sliding into bed.

"Hey Walker," Auggie mumbled as he moved into her arms.

"I love you," she kissed him softly and then buried her face in the crook of his neck warm from sleep and intoxicating in its Auggieness.

"Danielle was thrilled when I called her. I'm glad it worked out," his voice was deep and gravelly from disuse.

"If I didn't hate not falling asleep with you I would say waking you up would be my new favorite thing," she turned her attention back to his lips.

"No reason you can't do both," he encouraged and pulled her closer still.

The End


	27. Unexpected

Author's note: A request for Annie pregnant. Not sure how good I can do this, because it seems really outside of character, but I will give it a try while I maintain plausible deniability, let me know what you think. Also, if any of you follow Chris on Twitter, he is an adorable dad. (and if you don't follow Chris you should, best Twitter celeb ever).

Monday

The briefing had gone on an incredibly long time under the lights of the bullpen and Annie hadn't eaten anything yet. She had been standing for close to 90 minutes when everything went a little bit squiggly. She tugged on Auggie's arm and slid his hand down to her waist, leaning a little of her weight against him as she breathed in through her nose and tried not to pass out.

He squeezed her side and she nodded, her hair rustling against his shirt. It was amazing the non-verbal clues they could share considering he couldn't see her. Joan finally wrapped up and the group disbanded in a cacophony of disparate conversations.

"You alright?" Auggie asked quietly.

"Yeah, I just didn't eat anything this morning, my blood sugar is off," she brushed off his concern.

"Well go sit down before you fall down and I will get you something to eat," he poked her but stayed right beside her until she was seated at her desk.

Sure enough he returned with oatmeal and orange juice and a banana.

Tuesday

It was afternoon before Annie unearthed the bottom of her in box and decided to pop in and check on Auggie. The Tech Ops team were typing and tapping away, Stu was at Auggie's desk looking at algorithms and Barber was at his own desk munching on Doritos.

"Hello Boys," Annie greeted with a smile.

"Hello Annie," the trio returned.

"Auggie, I need…" Annie stopped as the nausea overwhelmed her.

Stu had never seen someone go from smiling to green quite so quickly. Before anyone could respond she was back out the door.

"What just happened?" Auggie asked concerned.

"She went white, then green then gone Man," Stu reported.

"Time for the blind guy to accidently walk into the ladies room again," Auggie sighed and followed after her.

Luckily she was alone in there, Auggie could hear her attempting to control her breathing.

"You OK?" he waited outside the stall.

A flush and the door opened.

"Yeah, that was so weird. I was fine and then I was really not fine," she rinsed her mouth out as Auggie found some paper towels, he wet them and held them cool against the back of her neck.

"Thanks," she smiled against his chest as she snuggled there for a second.

"Do you still feel sick?" he asked as he stroked her hair.

"No," she shook her head but made no move to step back.

Wednesday

It was 3:00 in the afternoon and Annie was starving. She and Auggie had eaten lunch at 1:30, there was no reason for her to be this hungry, but she seriously wanted to eat a tub of ice cream and a box of cookies and a bag of chips all at the same time.

She held strong for another 30 minutes, but then she made her way to the one person she knew would be able to help her out.

"Eric? You have any snacks in here?" she took advantage of Auggie's absence while he briefed Joan on something to weasel some snacks from Barber.

"For you Annie, anything," he opened a drawer in his desk that looked like a mini 7-11.

She wanted it all but settled for a package of chocolate-covered pretzels that would satisfy the salty-sweet craving.

"You rock Barber," she slapped him a high five.

"Don't I know it," he joked and returned to his screen.

Thursday

Halfway through Thursday's briefing Annie looked up just as Auggie ran his tongue over his bottom lip and she almost moaned out loud. She tried very hard to listen to the update on the drug cartel in Paraguay that Joan was droning on about, but all she could really think about was Auggie.

Later that day, her mind still awash with the image of Auggie's tongue and as a reward for finishing a rather lengthy translation for a fellow agent she sent Auggie a message.

"Meet me in SC143 – A" was all it said.

Auggie had to think about where exactly SC143 was, but finally realized it was a small conference room on the 4th floor. When you date a spy you take a little subterfuge as the norm, so Auggie logged off his session, grabbed his cane and told the guys he would be back soon.

"Getting the bling guy lost in the building isn't as funny as it might….mmmmpf," Annie didn't even let him finish his sentence she was on him as soon as he shut the door.

"I want you so bad," she managed between kisses.

"Not that I don't applaud the sentiment, but we are at work," his words said cautious but his hands were more on the adventurous side as they skimmed along the waistband of her skirt.

"We are in SC143, the only non-surveilled room in the building, despite that we should probably err on the side of quiet," she whispered the last bit in his ear and felt him shiver under her fingertips.

"How do you know that?"

"It's a thing I know, I know things," she was losing coherency at this point as she pushed him into one of the office chairs around the conference table.

Friday

"I know we talked about Allen's tonight, but I am so tired I don't think I can keep my eyes open," Annie strolled into Tech Ops around 7:00 pm.

"That's fine actually, I think we need to talk about something and Allen's isn't exactly the perfect spot for that."

"Everything OK?" she sounded concerned.

"I am just fine, let's get out of here," he suggested.

Settled at home with leftover take out and iced tea Auggie decided to broach the topic he was hinting at earlier.

"So, I watched a lot of Cosby Show as a kid and well, my mom is an obstetrician," Auggie started randomly and his hands were actually moist with sweat.

"Annie, so far this week you have been light-headed, nauseous, ravenous, insatiable - my favorite by the way- and exhausted. You have been blessedly on US soil for over 6 weeks during which time you have slept in my bed every single night. I may not get to run around with the bad guys like you do, but I am still a spy. The intel I have gathered this week has me wondering…."

"If I'm pregnant? Yeah, I am wondering that too," Annie's voice sounded small.

"Hey, you OK?" he reached out and found her chin, which he knew was down and tipped her face up so at least she could look into his eyes.

"Timings not great, but would it ever be for a spy. What do you, um, how do you, wait…are you?" she struggled to find the words.

"I love you Annie and I believe we can handle anything mother nature throws our way. Am I petrified at the idea of a baby? Yep, but we'll figure it out."

"Yeah?" she smiled.

"Yeah."

"Hey, I always wondered about your mom. After she had 5 kids did she just say, you know what, I could do that and switch places with the doctor?" Annie laughed.

Auggie smiled, "No I am pretty sure she went to med school."

"Probably," she shrugged and leaned over to kiss him, but yawned halfway there.

"Time for bed Miss Walker," he smiled again and kissed her.

"You'll make a great Dad."

The End


	28. At Risk

Author's Note: Someone wanted Auggie hurt. I kind of want this too, not seriously or anything, our guy has been through enough, but I would enjoy a little TLC for our hero.

"Annie?" his voice was raspy and she thought slightly panicked.

"You're OK," she assured him as she brushed his hair back from his forehead and kissed him, her lips soft and cool.

"Where?"

"Just rest, I'll tell you everything soon. You are safe and so am I. I'm not going anywhere," she held his hand and sank into the chair beginning to understand how he felt when Lena shot her.

***24 Hours Earlier***

"You two need to split up and get out of Istanbul," Joan was agitated on the end of the line.

"Joan?" Annie threaded that one word with all of her concern.

"I know Istanbul better than I know DC Annie, I'll be fine," Auggie protested.

"I'm not worried about you getting lost, I'm worried that they will…."

"What?" Auggie and Joan said at the same time.

"If I were pursuing a pair of people and one of them was blind and then they split up I would…."

"Pursue the weaker agent, yes Annie I understand the risk. That is why we have to do this, you take the flash drive and get it to Cavanaugh. I'll play rabbit for a few hours so you can complete the mission."

Auggie seemed neither scared nor angry at her for balking. They had made some progress since Barcelona.

"I don't like it either Annie, but Auggie is right, we need this intel and we need it now. I am putting Cavanaugh in place, make this happen and be careful, both of you," Joan hung up.

Annie didn't say another word, which made it very hard for Auggie to gauge her emotions. She looked around the safe house they had been cohabitating in for the past 4 days, wishing the mission hadn't gone so wrong in the last few hours. She packed her bag as Auggie packed his, quietly and thoughtfully. Finally, still silent, she brushed her hand against his arm and he turned to her. She reached for him and kissed him as thoroughly as she could praying it was not for the last time and left out the back.

Auggie exited from the front and was pursued as planned. He made his planned suspicious stops for phone calls and tried to look as much like a spy with intel burning a hole in his pocket as he could. Sure enough, it worked and Annie caught a ride out of town to rendezvous with Cavanaugh.

That was where she got the call.

"Don't panic, Auggie is in the hospital," Joan wasn't really good at interpersonal relations.

"Where?"

"Landstuhl, we got him out of Turkey. He kept them on the run for hours, finally he had to give himself over or they would have given up and tried to go after you. They interrogated him for a while, drugged him pretty bad and did a number on him physically, but he is fine, he'll be fine" Joan emphasized the end.

"Can I go to Germany?" Annie wasn't sure what the protocol was, they weren't married, the CIA had no obligation to let her run to her boyfriend's side.

"Of course, there's a transport waiting for you, I will text you the details. Good work on this Annie, I know this was tougher than the rest."

"Thanks," and Annie was gone.

***Present

Auggie resurfaced again a couple hours later, his face betrayed pain or fear but he didn't flinch or cry out in either.

"Auggie, I'm right here," Annie kissed his temple, trying to avoid any sore spots and repeated the words over and over until his face returned to a peaceful slumber.

The next time he came too it scared the crap out of Annie as she was dozing in the chair by the bed.

"I really hate hospitals," he just said it out of the blue.

"Jesus Auggie, give a girl some warning," she joked but was relieved to hear him vocalize a whole sentence.

"Sorry babe, but it's true. When am I getting sprung?"

"I understand your unhappiness with the accommodations, trust me I know how much you hate hospitals, especially military ones, but you need at least a day to process the drugs in your system and for us to observe that noggin of yours," she ran her fingers through his hair.

"My head is fine, although I do feel a little gross," he admitted.

"Gross? Is that a medical term?"

"Not quite nauseous, not quite dizzy, not quite in pain, just gross," he nearly whined.

"You haven't had any solid food in 2 days, let me see if they will let you eat," she offered.

"Oooh and a sponge bath," he waggled his eyebrows as much as he could without his head aching.

"I'll see if Sargent Gibbons is available, I hear he gives a spectacular sponge bath," she laughed and it faded away as she moved towards the door.

"You're mean," he faux-pouted but Annie was so glad he seemed OK she let him indulge himself in pettiness.

"But you love me anyway?" she returned to the foot of the bed and took a blanket-covered foot in her hand, needing just to feel all the pieces and parts of him.

"I love you every way," he grinned.

The End


	29. At Risk Part 2

At Risk Part 2

Auggie and Annie were only stuck in Germany one more night, but Auggie's hospital ordeal was not over. His blood pressure spiked on transport home so instead of ending up at his apartment, he ended up at Walter Reed, the last place on the planet Auggie Anderson ever wanted to be again.

"He's so quiet Joan, it is freaking me out," Annie mentioned to their boss as she drove back to the apartment to get a couple things for Auggie.

"It must be hell for him to be back there," Joan sympathized.

"Doctor says it should only be one night," Annie sighed.

"I don't need you tomorrow, the intel you gave Cavanaugh has been a gold mine, but Barber and Stu are on it. If they have any questions, they know where to reach you," Joan was always a softie when it came to Auggie.

"Thanks Joan," Annie disconnected her blue tooth and let a deep breath.

When she returned to the hospital an hour later after showering and gathering Auggie's things she knew he was in distress when she entered the room. The lights were off in the room, but she could see his face contorted in fear and sweat sticking his bangs to his forehead.

He didn't say anything, he was trained too well to talk even in a nightmare, but Annie could see his hands flexing and contracting and his feet nearly running under the blankets. She wasn't sure how to help him or even if she should, would she traumatize him more if she woke him, like a sleepwalker or was prolonging the fear just cruel.

"Auggie," she started softly, deciding she would try to infiltrate his thoughts and not touch him until he felt safe.

"Auggie, it's me, Annie. Can you hear me?" she asked in her gentlest tone.

She saw his hands still on his chest and his legs lie flat under the covers.

"I'm right here and you are perfectly safe," she had to put her hands behind her back to keep from reaching out to him.

The pain on his face ebbed away and she let herself place one hand on his shoulder. Sure enough he was awake in an instant, his hand reaching up to grab hers.

"It's me," she said clear and calm.

"Oh god," Auggie turned his head from her.

"It's OK, you were just agitated, it is to be expected," she let herself touch him freely now, running her hand through his damp hair.

"Sorry," his voice was small and broken.

"For what?" she asked sincerely.

"You should go home and get some sleep," his voice was louder, but flat.

"I don't want to go home, I want to be here, with you."

"Well you would be better off at home by yourself," he closed his eyes and actually shifted away from her.

Annie didn't take that lightly, she marched herself around to the other side of the bed and crouched down so her face was level with his on the thin hospital pillow.

"I'm not going anywhere," she spoke to him like he was a child, which wasn't far from how he was behaving.

"Not yet," his response was barely audible.

And we have a winner! Annie knew Auggie had abandonment issues, he was betrayed by a member of his unit, distant from his family since the accident, Parker walked at the first sign of difficulty. Annie wasn't so guiltless herself, in her effort to avoid her feelings from Auggie she had distanced herself too, he had every reason to think she would leave, even after the past few months of their relationship.

"I'm not going anywhere," she repeated and sank to the floor, sitting with her back against the side of the bed and her legs stretched out in front of her. Soon she heard Auggie drift into a calm sleep and she followed suit.

TBC…


	30. At Risk Part 3

At Risk Part 3

"Hey boss," Barber greeted tentatively from the door.

"Morning," Auggie returned in a whisper.

Barber stepped into the room with 2 cups of coffee.

"Where's Annie?" he asked confused.

Auggie pointed in what he hoped was the right direction. He also hoped she was still there after the way he behaved the night before.

"Why is she asleep on the floor?"

"She's stubborn," Auggie returned.

"She's also awake," Annie stretched.

"Good morning Annie," Barber offered her the coffee he brought her.

"Thank you Eric, that was very kind of you," she smiled as she stood.

"How are you?" she asked Auggie and laid her hand on his chest.

"I am fine," he attempted a grin to win her over.

"Still being an ass?" apparently it didn't work.

"I should probably go…" Eric stuttered.

"It's OK Barber, keep him company for me, I need to freshen up after a night on the floor."

By the time Annie returned with a washed face and her hair in a bun the doctor was signing Auggie's release papers and Barber had left.

"Oh good, Miss Walker, here are his aftercare instructions and a prescription if he should have any residual pain. Captain Anderson, you are free to go Sir," the doctor announced.

"Thank you doctor, I just need some pants," he smiled and looked pretty much like the Auggie of old.

"I'll leave you two to sort out the wardrobe," and with that the doctor was gone.

***555****

"There is no reason I cannot work, I am not a carpenter, I sit at a desk all day and type," Auggie was arguing as they entered the loft, a full week after they had left for the mission.

"You make it sound like you do data entry for an insurance company Auggie. You have a ridiculously high stress job, you need to heal," Annie reasoned as she put his things away.

"I need a beer," he proclaimed heading for the kitchen.

"No way, it will interact with the pain meds."

"I'm not taking the pain meds," he scrunched up his face in disgust.

"Oh good, a martyr," she sighed.

"I've had enough of the sighing," Auggie was back to petulant.

"Well you can't see me rolling my eyes, I need to get my point across somehow," she snapped.

"Why are you being so overly dramatic?"

"Why are you being such a jerk?" she spit back.

"Because you are making such a big deal out a minor injury. You get hurt on a weekly basis, I don't treat you like an invalid," he looked mad now.

"I'm not treating you like an invalid, I am trying to make sure you take care of yourself, which you seem wholly unwilling to do by having a beer at noon mere hours after getting out of the hospital," she countered.

"You're being ridiculous."

"I'm being ridiculous, pfft," she blew out a huge breath and stormed over to the sink to pour herself a glass of water before she said something else.

After drinking the full glass of water, she turned, her heart rate under control and shook her head sadly.

"This has nothing to do with me suggesting you wait on the beer, this has to do with me figuring out last night that you're scared."

"Scared of what?" he challenged.

"You're afraid that I'm going to leave you. You think that if you are even remotely unpleasant I will just up and walk out that door."

He didn't say anything but stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed protectively across his chest, a defensive stance to his feet.

"You're worried that I only love the funny, easy-going, flirty sexy Auggie and when childish snarky annoying pain in the ass Auggie comes out I am going to pack up my toothbrush and leave town," she pushed at him and he continued to glower at her.

"You're terrified that some new guy is going to waltz into my life and I might find him less work than the blind guy," she approached him now and he actually stepped back.

"You're scared of me and what I do and who I am ," she advanced on him with every word until he was backed up against the back of the couch.

"Or maybe it's actually the reverse, you're afraid I won't leave and you will have to actually have a real relationship and not some one night stand or whirlwind engagement," she turned on her heel and walked away from him.

"Annie," his voice was strong and clear.

"He speaks," she arched an eyebrow.

"You hardly let me get a word in there," he smirked.

"Don't smirk all sexy at me like that, I am now officially mad at you," she matched his cross-armed stance.

"That was quite a little indictment you just handed down. You had me tried and convicted without allowing me to defend myself."

"You haven't earned that right yet."

"And just how do I plead my case Miss Walker?" he moved towards her and she took a step into his path to help him even though she was furious.

"You need to trust me Auggie, as much as I have always trusted you. You have to let me care about you, even when that care is smothering and annoying. You can't stop talking to me the minute you are uncomfortable with the topic. You have to let me love you, completely, Auggie or we'll die."

He kissed her then, long and hard and he could feel the dampness on her cheeks from her silent tears.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her ear.

"Don't be sorry, be happy, be happy that we got this chance," she squeezed him so tight.

"I am," he assured her as he kissed her again.

"Can we have make up sex now?" he asked impishly.

"No sex and no beer my friend, get on the couch and I will consider making you hot chocolate," she kissed him one more time.

"Can we make out on the couch?"

She laughed and it was the very best sound in the world.

The End


	31. One of the Guys

Annie and Auggie were finishing up a report when Barber burst in the room winded.

"Oh good, you're still here. Please tell me you can come to Allen's tonight, Stu's girlfriend cheated on him and he is a mess and I need reinforcements," he said it all so fast it sounded like one long word.

"Hi Eric, we're fine, nice of you to drop in," Auggie smiled at his flustered friend.

"Sorry, hi!" Barber waved bouncing on his toes like a five year old.

Auggie looked at Annie and took her hand, one squeeze meant yes and two no, it was a little code they had worked out. She squeezed once and turned a smile on Barber.

"He is all yours, just make sure the ladies know he's taken…."

"I was inviting both of you Annie," Barber clarified.

"Sounds kind of like a guy thing," she wrinkled her nose.

"You're one of the guys," Barber offered.

"I am?" Annie asked and turned to Auggie.

"I don't consider you one of the guys," he quickly replied.

"You better not," she answered her voice low and sexy.

"Please, please please I beg you both don't leave me alone with melancholy Stu," Eric bit his lip.

"Melancholy Stu sounds like an Indie rock band," Auggie chuckled.

"Don't make fun, he is seriously sad," Annie chided despite agreeing with his comment.

"So you're in?" Eric nodded and didn't wait for a response.

"You'll be making this up to me later," Annie explained.

"How is this my fault?" Auggie grinned and she kissed him quickly.

"You're a guy, everything is your fault. I'm going to grab my stuff, be ready in five," she kissed him once more for good measure.

****555****

"I am a spy for god's sake how did I not see this," Stu lamented as he sipped his beer.

Annie was taken aback by his appearance, Stu was the most corporate of the Tech Ops Team, always ironed, never a hair out of place and currently his suit was wrinkled, his tie loose and his hair flopping in his face.

"Love is blind," Barber trotted out another cliché.

"Mine certainly is," Annie pinched Auggie under the table.

"Oh god, sorry boss," Barber cringed.

"No problem Barber," Auggie laughed and even Stu managed a smile.

"Stu, relationships are hard and even the most keenly observant among us could ignore signs that we did not want to see," Annie noted her voice soothing, she did feel bad for the guy.

"She's right man, it is very easy to convince yourself that everything is fine, when it really isn't," Auggie concurred having come to terms with that reality after Parker left.

"I was so sure things were good though, makes me doubt everything now. How am I ever supposed to trust someone again?" Stu looked like he might cry and Annie was unprepared for that level of emotion from the usually stoic guy.

"We want so badly to trust everyone we care about and to be worthy of their trust in return, but it is never instant and isn't without effort and work. Trust is earned under lots of different circumstances, if this job teaches us anything it is we never know who we can trust and often end up trusting people we never imagined we could or would," Auggie patted Stu's arm.

"I trusted you on day one," Annie shook her head in disbelief.

"Professionally we trusted each other very quickly, we had to as you kept getting shot at, but you didn't trust me like this right away," he kissed her softly.

"I might have if you had done that three years ago," she smiled.

"But that trust wouldn't have been earned and it could have been catastrophic. I told you it was all about getting the timing right for us," he kissed her once more forgetting their very public spot and their companions quickly.

"Guys, this isn't helping," Stu flagged down the waitress and ordered another pitcher.

"Sorry," Annie extracted herself from Auggie's lips.

Stu had moved from wanting to talk about the break-up to just wanting to get drunk, so the table supported him and soon there was Patron to go with the beer. By midnight all four of them were drunk and Stu was laughing.

"Um, who's going to drive?" Annie stumbled over her words.

"Ooooh, oooh can I?" Auggie raised his hand, "I bet I am no worse drunk than I am sober."

"I think we need a couple cabs. Stu buddy come crash on my couch, you seem happy now, but I think reality might be a harsh wake up call," Barber managed to get all of that out without a problem, clearly his size allowed him to consume more alcohol.

The waitress called them 2 cabs and Annie kissed Stu on the cheek as she poured him and Barber into the first one.

"You'll be OK, heart ache is a recoverable condition, otherwise the population would be much smaller."

Annie and Auggie fell into the second cab and gave the driver Auggie's address. As soon as they got into the elevator at Auggie's she was in his arms, her hands flying over the buttons of his shirt. The ding upon arrival at Auggie's floor broke the spell momentarily and he tried to compose himself should anyone be out in the hall.

His hands shook with alcohol and lust as he tried to unlock the door, Annie running her nails up and down his spine didn't help.

"You're enthusiastic," he laughed as they finally got through the door.

"Tequila makes me want you even more," she announced as he heard her purse and heels hit the floor.

He knew that once her shoes were off she was several inches shorter and he adjusted his approach for true Annie height and scooped her up. She squealed when he tossed her effortlessly over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she laughed breathless.

"You told me I was going to have to make tonight up to you, thought I'd start now," he explained as he tossed her on the bed and crawled across to meet her.

"Wow, drunk and blind and you didn't drop me on the floor. I am seriously impressed," she giggled as he managed to get her skirt off with little effort.

"If that was impressive be prepared to be amazed," he grinned as he pulled one bare leg towards him and placed a warm wet kiss on the inside of her ankle.

With one gentle but sneaky move she extracted her leg and wrapped it under his arm to pull him down on top of her.

"I love you," she said sounding more sober than she had for hours.

"I love you too, but right now I'm gonna make you scream," he smiled as he kissed her into stunned silence.

The End


	32. Eavesdropping

Author's note: These scenes are totally not related to each other, but someone asked for more observations of our duo, so here is some observation…..

Joan wasn't exactly eavesdropping. Auggie's office door was open and she was utilizing a scanner just outside it, if she happened to overhear what he and Annie were talking about it could not be considered eavesdropping. It wasn't like they were sharing deep-dark secrets either, it appeared they were discussing the grocery list.

"We need coffee," Auggie mentioned and Joan heard the scratch of a pen as Annie apparently wrote that down.

"We always need coffee," she laughed easily in a way Annie hadn't for a long time last year.

"And cereal."

"Can we get the good kind?" she asked quickly.

"By good you mean the $7 kind right."

"It isn't $7, it is closer to $6 but it is really healthy," she appealed to his sense of nutrition.

"OK, but you Miss Walker are bankrupting me."

"With my extravagant taste in breakfast foods?" she laughed again.

"And your egregious use of electric lights, my utility bill went up $10 last month," he teased her back.

Joan was amazed, it was Annie and Auggie banter domestic-style. They had, from the very beginning, an ease to their relationship that surprised Joan as Auggie had not been particularly free with his emotions after Iraq. Sure he spent plenty of time with women, but he didn't confide in them, he didn't joke with them the way he did with Annie.

"We'll just have to go to bed as soon as it gets dark then," she flirted and Joan could imagine Auggie smirking at her.

"No argument from me there. Oh and can we compromise on the milk?"

"How about a quart of each and I will label them for you?"

"Sure, mark yours 'Annie's watery tasteless non-milk milk' and mine 'milk'," he clarified.

"That will require a very long braille label, but OK. I do not know how you can drink full-fat milk and be as skinny as you are," she shook her head in disbelief.

"I only use it in coffee and on that ritzy cereal you like…" Joan walked away with a smile on her face as her two top operatives debated the value of fat content in milk.

***555***

Arthur knew the mission was risky, but he also knew Annie could handle it and Auggie could handle Annie. So he gave the orders, saw the terror flit across Auggie's sightless eyes and dismissed the duo. They didn't go far though as Arthur could hear the conversation going on right outside his office.

"I don't like this Annie," Auggie whispered harshly.

"I'll be fine," she sounded more confident than Arthur imagined she was.

"This is too dangerous, even for someone as skilled at escaping catastrophe as you," he was teasing a little now.

"I can do this and we need this intel, it would be a big win for me."

"At what cost?"

"No cost Auggie, I will be fine and do you know how I know I will be fine? Because you will be on the other end of the comm talking me through."

Arthur had stood to retrieve his brief case and he saw their reflection in a pane of glass, if they were standing any closer they could have been wearing the same pants.

"OK," Auggie said as Arthur saw him lean forward and brush the gentlest kiss to her forehead and then they were off, work to be done.

***555***

"I have a middle seat," Annie huffed over the shared line.

"It was that or a C4 leaving tomorrow. I assumed you wanted to get home and not have to sit in a jump seat," Auggie explained calmly as Barber tried not to listen in, even though it was his job to listen in sometimes.

"You know I am going to be stuck between some 3 year old and an annoying business man."

"Woe is you," Auggie didn't sound all that sympathetic.

"I suppose I can suffer through 8 hours of commercial airline hell to come home to you a day early," she sounded slightly less annoyed.

"That's my girl. I bought you a present," he mentioned off-handedly.

"Really? To butter me up for something?"

"So suspicious Miss Walker, can't I shower you with affection for no good reason," he feigned hurt.

"I suppose, what is it?"

"Now what is the fun in that? You now have 8 hours to imagine all the possibilities."

"Is it bigger than a bread box?" she teased.

"Oh no, not back to bread boxes…." he sighed.

"They're calling my flight."

"Fly safely."

"I love you," Annie smiled as she approached the gate.

"Love you too," Auggie smiled.

"And I love you both," Barber chimed in.

***555***

Danielle saw them before Annie saw her. Through a mass of people off the flight from San Francisco Danielle spied her baby sister leaning partially against a wall and mostly against the tall frame of her boyfriend. Annie looked tired and Danielle was instantly concerned, never knowing what adventure her sister was coming or going from.

Auggie was talking to her, his head tilted down and his mouth very close to her ear. Annie's eyes were closed and she had a peaceful smile on her face. Every now and then she would nod against Auggie's shoulder.

They were so beautiful together Danielle was frozen not wanting to interrupt the moment, when suddenly Annie tilted her head up, opened her eyes and kissed Auggie. It was a tender kiss, not too much for public, but more than friendly and Danielle saw the man's eyes crinkle in a smile.

"Hey guys," she interrupted.

"Danielle!" they announced in unison and Annie stepped away from Auggie to hug her.

Danielle could feel the warmth of Annie's body where it had been nestled against Auggie.

"You two looked cozy," Danielle teased as Auggie took her suitcase with one hand and Annie's elbow with the other.

"We've been here forever," Annie rolled her eyes.

"My flight wasn't late," Danielle was confused.

"Mr. Punctuality over here did not want to risk being late," she poked him in the stomach.

"Traffic was freakishly light, we made remarkable time and my sense of punctuality has saved your ass on more than one occasion," he defended.

"Oh my god you are so cute, please tell me you will be this adorable all weekend," Danielle gushed.

The End


	33. Eavesdropping Part 2

Author's Note: For Epona3 who request Annie observing Auggie. Again, these scenes are in no way connected to each other.

Annie surfaced from sleep to an empty bed and the shower running in the adjoining bathroom. Their mornings had gotten better and they were less late than they were at the beginning. She stays warm and cozy in the bed as the shower turns off. She regulates her breathing, so Auggie thinks she is still sleeping and just watches.

He emerges from the bathroom with a towel around his waist and his hair tousled but mostly wet. She had watched him work out for years, so while she wasn't surprised by his body she is still caught off guard every time she sees him naked, he is hands down the most attractive naked man she has ever seen. That isn't saying much though as Annie had always found naked men kind of odd-looking.

He has a routine: he runs a brush through his hair, puts on his watch and then his boxers, tossing the wet towel over a rack so it doesn't get musty in the hamper. She has watched it every morning for months now, he is so comfortable in his space he never hesitates in his movements, it is remarkable to watch.

Then he comes to wake her up and she closes her eyes as he sits on her side of the bed, runs a strong hand up her leg to her hip and leans down to kiss her temple.

"Morning Miss Walker," his voice is deep and clear and strong, the best wake-up call she has ever had.

***555***

The blast was pretty intense and Annie could still hear the ringing in her ears as she made her way back to the command vehicle. Her injuries were minor though, just a couple scrapes and bruises. She was so glad Auggie was in country with her, knowing how much it kills him to be so far away when these things go down.

As she approached the van she saw Barber first.

"You OK?" he asked and took her elbow in case she was unsteady.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is he inside?" she indicated the van.

"No, he um…needed some air, he went that way," Barber indicated a rocky ledge not far from the van.

Annie approached cautiously, she didn't want to startle him literally off the ledge. He had his back to her and she could see his shoulders hunched in a bit, defensively. He bent over for a second and she feared he might be sick, but he just rested his hands on his knees, took a deep breath and stood back up. He brought his hands to his hair and raked it back, turning his face to the sun.

She scuffed her feet to get his attention as gently as possible, his back went rigid once he knew someone was there, but in the glorious mountains of Columbia there was no way he could tell it was her. He turned with military precision and stepped safely from the edge.

"Hello?" he asked.

"It's me," she didn't realize she was crying until she spoke.

He managed the uneven terrain like he could see and was at her side within steps, his arms around her holding them both steady.

"It shook the van," was all he said.

"I was clear, I told you I was clear," she kept repeating it as she sobbed against his shoulder.

***555***

Annie approached the café with a smile. Auggie had let her sleep in after a late night on the Eastern European watch desk. She woke and found a text telling her to meet him here for breakfast or lunch, whichever she made it in time for.

Glancing through the window she could see the back of Auggie's head, his computer on the table in front of him and a beautiful woman sitting in the opposite chair. Annie wasn't jealous by nature and she trusted Auggie with every fiber of her being, but seeing this pretty woman reminded her of the old Auggie.

She entered the café with no malice, she didn't want to be the suspicious girlfriend and what she saw next was totally unexpected. Auggie was holding and playing with a baby. She stood frozen for a minute and watched as he bounced the baby on his knee and let the baby gnaw on one of his fingers. Auggie could have been juggling chain saws and Annie would have been less surprised.

"Good morning," she approached.

"Is it still morning Miss Walker?" Auggie grinned.

"Good very early afternoon," she corrected and kissed his cheek.

"Annie, this is Rebecca and her son Theo. Rebecca works here, but has obviously been away for a little bit producing this guy. Rebecca, Annie Walker," Auggie made the introductions.

"Pleasure to meet you," Annie held out her hand and the young woman shook it.

"So nice to meet you Annie. I was happy to bump into Auggie, I hadn't seen him since Theo was born."

"He's adorable," Annie smiled.

"Why thank you," Auggie replied.

"I meant Theo," Annie rolled her eyes for Rebecca's benefit.

"We'll get out of your hair, this guy is going to need a nap soon," she scooped the baby from Auggie.

Farewells were exchanged and coffee ordered for Annie before she said anything to Auggie.

"That was totally unexpected," she shook her head.

"Admit it, you thought Rebecca was hitting on me," Auggie kissed her gently.

***555***

"Hey Annie," Barber greeted as she entered the gym.

"Hello Eric. Is he here?" she didn't need to clarify who he was.

"Yep, right over there," he indicated Auggie running on the treadmill.

"How does he not fall off that thing?" Annie asked in awe.

"I have no idea, I fall off once a week and I can see and don't run nearly as fast as he does," Eric smiled and moved on.

Annie stood and watched Auggie running, his sightless eyes nearly focused on a point across the room. If you did not know you would have no idea he was blind, his intensity masked it. That was how he stayed on the damned machine, focus.

"You need him?" Stu appeared out of nowhere.

"Nah it can wait, he is in the zone," Annie smiled.

Just as she was about to walk away she saw him, mid-stride, reach for his water bottle without missing a step, yep the man could focus.

The End


	34. Cover 1

"You are very pretty."

"Why thank you."

"Your hair is like the most golden wheat…" the Russian accent made that sound not particularly attractive.

"No one's ever said that before," Annie giggle, actually giggled.

"You should have a man that tells you every day how beautiful you are. I am Boris" the Russian was closer to her now, the mic picking him up clearer.

"I'm Amber," Annie replied playing her old trusty cover Amber Truesdale.

"Amber, a beautiful name for a beautiful lady. You must allow me to buy you a drink."

"Is this guy for real?" Auggie asked no one in particular.

"Not real fun listening to your girlfriend being hit on by another guy is it?" Barber asked sympathetically.

"Annie gets hit on by other guys all the time, never quite so cheesily," he scoffed.

"You're not American, right?" Annie asked in her naïve girl from the Midwest accent that had gotten her far on her very first case.

"I take solace in the fact that that is not really Annie talking, just a character she plays," Auggie assured Barber.

"She plays it really well though, are we sure she isn't really dumb and just plays smart?" Eric chuckled.

Auggie just laughed.

"Is this your phone?" he heard Annie making her move.

"Yes, the newest IPhone they make, it is very state of the art," the Russian wanted to impress this naïve little Midwestern version of Annie, just like they hoped.

"Cool! Do you have Apps?" she asked with awe in her voice.

"Lots," he bragged.

"I still have this old thing," Annie rustled through her bag and pulled out the ancient looking flip phone.

What Boris didn't know was this seemingly ancient phone was programmed to download his entire contact list. Annie just had to get him to open any App and place her phone within 5 feet.

"You need a man who can buy you the best," Boris continued his bragging.

"Oh brother," Auggie smirked.

"This was the plan," Eric clarified.

"I know, but it sounded much less ridiculous in my head," Auggie sighed.

"Show me how the Apps work. Do you have Angry Birds?" she was practically in his lap based on the reverb on the mic.

"Of course," Auggie heard the standard Angry Birds music and instantly his monitor began downloading the names, numbers and emails of one of Moscow's biggest mafia syndicates.

Auggie's code blew right through the high level encryption and all the while Annie and Boris were playing Angry Birds.

Luckily Boris had been drinking for a while and it wasn't long before he excused himself to the men's room and Annie made her escape. She hightailed it back to Langley to see what they got despite the fact that she was still dressed for the club scene.

Auggie could hear her heels as she approached and he also heard Barber audibly gulp when she walked in.

"I understand why you fool these guys now," was all Eric said.

"What did we get?" she asked as she pulled a chair up to Auggie's work station.

"Everything we wanted and more. I can't say for sure, but I think Joan did a happy dance," Auggie smiled.

"She did," Barber confirmed.

"Nice. Any trouble with the encryption?"

"Nope, it is perfect and thanks to Apple it is already translated, so you are done for the evening Amber," he snarked.

"Amber has gotten this agency a lot of intel, don't be making fun of Amber," Annie scolded as she let down Amber's signature French twist and shook out her hair.

The smell of her shampoo and hairspray hit Auggie full on and his mouth actually watered like Pavlov's dog.

"So, we're done here," Auggie's voice quavered slightly and his hand went to her leg, where it hit nothing but skin.

"Seems a shame to let this outfit go to waste on Boris," Annie leaned in closer to him.

"I have no intention of letting it go to waste," Auggie's tone left no room for interpretation.

"You guys know I'm here right?" Barber squeaked.

"Sorry Eric," Annie shook herself out of the images that sprung to mind of Auggie's fingers moving over the intricate straps of the very small dress she was wearing.

She stood and Auggie's hand trailed from her knee down to her calf and she nearly buckled and fell into his lap.

"We're leaving now," Auggie announced.

"Have a good night!" Barber waved as he finished his report.

"We will," they replied in unison as Barber saw them all but jogging towards the elevator.

The End


	35. Cover 2

Author's Note: I am travelling for business for the next week, so updates may not be as regular as normal. I will try my best….

"Annie, can you sing?" Joan asked out of the blue at the end of a briefing.

Auggie stopped short at the question and turned around intrigued.

"Um, what exactly do you mean Joan?" Annie asked confused.

"Can you sing? Carry a tune? Not scare dogs?" Joan grinned.

"Well, yeah, I can sing a little. It has been awhile, but I did musical theatre in high school. I get conned into karaoke every now and then, I sing in the car. Why are you asking me this?" she was unusually flustered.

"I have a mission and I think the best way in is an agent who can sing. Estonia arms dealer working out of a little bar in New York City, staff is small no chance of getting anyone in as a new waitress. They have an open mic night on Tuesdays," Joan explained.

"I can do it," Annie responded with her usual confidence returned.

"OK, we can't have you lip synching though. Auggie, can you set up a microphone and some background music in the lab?"

"Sure," he answered tentatively.

"I have to audition for my mission?" Annie couldn't believe it.

"I can't have you freaking out about singing and blow the very tiny window we have on this guy," Joan explained.

"OK, Auggie and I will spend the afternoon preparing for American idol, CIA edition," Annie shrugged and started to follow Auggie out of the office.

"Now open mic generally means original material, we'll need to write a few songs too, think you are up for that?"

"I've survived a couple broken hearts. I have a song or two in me, not a whole album's worth, but I can scratch out a couple," Annie shrugged, today was getting strange fast.

"You nervous?" Auggie asked later as he tested the playback on the mic.

"I wasn't until Joan turned this into America's Got Talent," Annie laughed.

"You have a lovely singing voice, it'll be easy," Auggie assured her.

"When have you heard me sing?" Annie turned towards him and saw the guilty look on his face.

"It is possible that I have overheard you in the shower, since you know, we cohabitate a lot these days," he shrugged.

"Wow, I really let down my guard around you, you know that?" she reached out and squeezed his arm.

"I'm glad," he said sincerely, "I am glad that there are moments in your life when you are not constantly guarded."

"There are a whole lot more of them now, thank you. Now what are my audition choices?" Annie scrolled through the list.

The End


	36. Cover 3

"Oh god Auggie that feels so good," Annie purred as she sunk her face into the pillow.

Auggie just chuckled and ran the heel of his hand up her spine before working the knots in her shoulders.

"I think this assignment might actually kill me," her voice was thick and sleepy.

"Don't say that," he didn't even like her joking about things like that.

"I think I have swum 10 marathons this week, my shoulders are screaming, my hair is green and I smell like chlorine," she listed the ways this assignment was not fun.

"Your shoulders have amazing definition, your hair is a little dry, but it'll come back fine and right now you smell like almonds. Mmmm and you taste like them too," he added as he leaned down and nibbled at her neck.

"I should have told Joan I couldn't swim or I was afraid of sharks or something," she snorted, but that snort turned suspiciously to a moan when Auggie moved his hands from her shoulders down her sides.

"Sharks in the GW University pool, Joan might have caught on to that," Auggie tried to focus on relieving Annie's pain, but the way she squirmed under him made him really want to focus on something else.

"Probably," she sounded sleepier still.

Auggie got the rest of the almond oil into her skin and hopped off the bed to wash his hands, when he returned to the bed she was sound asleep, the alarm set for 4:00 am.

4:00 am came around awfully quick and the alarm jarred them both out of the comfort of sleep.

"I thought sleeping with a co-ed was going to be more fun than this," Auggie mumbled and rolled back over, his pillow over his head.

Annie headed to the bathroom and dressed for day 7 of recon on a new Asian Cultural grad student at GW. This guy liked to swim and he was at the pool every morning at 5:00 am. Annie was tasked with getting to know him, and Joan thought a fellow swimmer might be the key.

Annie slipped on her swimsuit and sweats and grabbed her bag from the closet. Before she left she pried the pillow off of Auggie's head and kissed his temple gently.

"Thank you for taking care of me last night," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he smiled.

"I'll pay you back tonight," she promised and his cool hand slid up the back of her sweatshirt.

"If you can walk?" he smirked.

"I'm pretty sure what I have in mind will not require walking. It can all be accomplished right here in fact, in this comfy bed," she kissed him more soundly and was quickly up and gone.

"That's just mean," Auggie muttered and rolled over to wrap his arms around her pillow.

It was late afternoon when Annie made her way back to Langley in the low rise jeans and graphic tee college look she had been sporting the past week.

"How was Econ?" Joan asked as Annie entered Tech Ops.

"I now know why I am not an economist and also why the economy is a disaster," she smiled.

"The pages of Kwan's notebook you photographed are proving very interesting Annie. How did you get him to leave you alone with it?" Joan asked.

"I spilled fruit punch all over him at lunch," Annie shrugged.

"Old school," Barber piped up.

"More like nursery school," Auggie smirked and Annie whacked him for it.

"It worked," Joan ended the fight before it started.

"We have a meeting time and place from the notes, we're sending Gleason in from here on, good work Annie, you are done, you can hang up your notebooks and your swim cap," Joan waved a good-bye as she exited the room.

"Yes, no more 4:00 a.m. wake up calls and no more cafeteria food," Annie cheered.

"And I was just starting to feel smug about dating a college girl," Auggie shook his head in defeat.

"I'll let you carry my books home," she hip checked him and sauntered out.

"She's a riot," Auggie said to no one.

The End


	37. Cover 4

Annie woke 30 minutes before her alarm and knew she wasn't getting back to sleep, despite the painfully early time. She wasn't ready to get out of bed though so she turned towards the source of warmth and comfort in her life.

Auggie was asleep on his back so it was easy to maneuver into his arms and he responded instantly, his warm hands wrapping around her waist and his nose finding a spot behind her ear. She tried to will herself to sleep, but her mind was going much too fast. Her heart was pounding in her chest and it must have woken him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked concerned.

"Thinking," she answered quietly hoping he would get some more sleep.

"Dangerous endeavor," he smiled.

"Just reviewing my cover in my head."

"Go ahead, I know it by heart, try it out," he encouraged.

"My name is Karina Petrovna Lubchenko, born in Krasnador on October 31, 1983. Moved to Minnesota with my mother Lara and 2 brothers Lev and Alyosha when I was 11 in 1994. Our father stayed behind for work, he visited often, but resided in Moscow. Alyosha died in 2000 in a car accident, Lev is married with 2 kids in Baltimore, Mother is in a nursing home in Virginia. Father died last week and I have his will and safety deposit box key to retrieve his belongings," she recited.

"This is text book," Auggie had vetted the real Karina himself, she knew her father was a double agent and suspected the Russians knew too, she was certain there was intel in the safety deposit box, but was too scared to retrieve it.

"I know, my Russian is as good as Karina's, I look like her we have all her paperwork, it'll be fine," she didn't sound convinced though.

"Is this about this mission or is this about the idea of going back to Moscow?" Auggie asked sincerely, his lips against her ear his hands rubbing warm circles on her back and hip.

"Yeah," was all she said, he was right and he knew it.

"It'll be OK, I will be in your ear the whole time this time," he assured her.

"You were last time too. You were the only thing I could focus on that brought me any relief, any solace. I could hear your voice telling me I could survive."

"You have no idea how glad that makes me," he squeezed her a little more.

"I don't want to feel this way about Moscow, I love Moscow. Maybe this will be a good way for me to get back there, a fairly easy case with minimal risk," she was talking herself into it.

"That's my girl," he grinned and leaned down to kiss her.

Kissing Auggie was like potato chips, once you started it was very hard to stop and soon enough the alarm went off.

"Go back to sleep," she cooed as she slipped out of the bed and headed to the shower.

When she was dressed and her bag double checked she got her cover docs from the safe and glanced back at Auggie. His hair was a mess and he had a night's worth of stubble, he was too irresistible to walk away from. She snuck over for one more kiss.

He clearly wasn't asleep though as he tugged her closer and deepened the kiss. Her hands slipped around to his bare back and the next thing she knew he rolled her underneath him.

"I have to go," she whined.

"Just one more minute," he remembered the last time she was in Russia too after all.

"OK, but your sexiness is a threat to national security," she teased.

"I am so telling Barber that later," he bragged and kissed her once more before releasing her.

Just as she was walking out of the room she saw her perfume bottle on the dresser and gave herself a quick spritz.

"That's just mean," Auggie commented.

"Huh?"

"Leaving me in bed all hot and bothered surrounded by Jo Malone Grapefruit," he rolled towards her pillow in mock defeat.

"Didn't want you to forget me while I was gone," she laughed as she walked away.

The mission went exactly as planned, but on the last day Annie asked if Auggie could bump her flight a couple hours. It was an easy switch and Auggie didn't ask why, but sure enough a call came in on his personal line.

"Auggie Anderson," he answered.

"Privet," she replied in Russian.

"You OK?" he asked quietly.

"Better than OK, ask me where I am?"

"Where are you Miss Walker?" he played along.

"In the middle of Red Square, St. Basil's in front of me and I am OK. I remember everything I loved about this city, the people, the architecture, the music, the food, the electricity of it all. I love Moscow Auggie, thank you for giving me the time to remember why," her voice was so reverent it made his heart swell.

"The food? Really? You have an unnatural affection for beets don't you?" he had to add some humor or he might actually cry.

"I am making you borscht this weekend, you will come around."

"With enough vodka maybe," he smiled.

"See you in the morning," and she was gone swallowed up by the teeming crowd of Red Square.

The End


	38. Safe House 1

Author's Note: Sorry this is late, another business trip today. I have written ahead a little so hopefully the rest of the week will come in on time.

"We're here," Annie announced by way of greeting when Auggie answered the phone.

"Everything look OK?" he asked relieved.

"A little dusty, but otherwise fine, thank you," she smiled into the phone.

"Glad I could pull it off. Did you get some food?"

"The essentials, we'll be fine until morning."

"At least you aren't alone," he always found the bright side.

"Yes, although I think Reva is going to start looking for work in the private sector if we keep getting chased every time she comes out in the field," Annie smiled at the other woman who was recovering from their narrow escape.

"At least I can run this time," Reva grinned.

"Think of it as a slumber party," Auggie chuckled.

"Oh yes, we plan to paint each other's nails, braid our hair and talk about boys," Annie teased.

"Uh oh, I might be more frightened now than I was when you were being pursued by hostiles," Auggie grimaced on his end.

"Scared I am going to spill all your secrets?" Annie winked at Reva.

"I expect a detailed account of all things Auggie," Reva spoke up so the man in question could hear.

"Be good, girls, the cavalry will get you out of Rome in the morning. Call if you need anything," his voice was softer on the last few words and Annie smiled at the tenderness he always showed even in the face of danger.

"Thanks again. Be sure to get some rest yourself," Annie wasn't teasing him anymore.

With that Annie ended the call and tossed the phone on the counter of the small apartment she and Reva were to call home for the night. Auggie's contact had given them a bag of food and in Italian tradition a bottle of wine to sustain them until morning. She opened the wine and washed a couple of glasses.

"You alright?" Annie asked as she handed a glass to Reva.

"Oh yeah, compared to our last adventure this is nothing," she chuckled and took a sip of the rich red wine.

"We were lucky Auggie could pull this rabbit out of his hat," Annie remembered how exposed they were in the middle of Rome, but sure enough Auggie had a friend.

"Auggie is keeping rabbits in the DPD these days?" Reva smiled.

"Hutches and hutches of them, the man has a friend everywhere," Annie shook her head in disbelief.

"You guys are together now right?" Reva asked casually.

"Yeah, the news made it to DST?" Annie said neither surprised nor concerned, they were public although not flaunting it.

"Well the rumors were around for a while, but someone overheard Joan and Arthur talking about you, so we thought it might finally be true."

"True, since November," Annie couldn't help but smile as the memory of that rainy night when Auggie arrived without warning and reached a tentative hand out to touch her, to pull her close and kiss her, years of longing finally realized.

"You are amazing together, professionally I mean, stuff of legends. It isn't surprising you'd be good in other ways too," Reva was never one to avoid truths.

"We are, good together, it's just so so good," Annie had a hard time expressing their relationship in coherent words.

"Are you talking about the relationship or the sex?" Reva asked bluntly and Annie choked a little on her wine.

"This is turning into a slumber party," Annie evaded.

"Come on, spill. I remember being in the room with you two a couple years ago and the sexual tension was so thick it could have powered the overhead lights."

"I spent so much time denying how much I wanted him I forced myself not to notice it, but the first time he kissed me, touched me in a different way, he was so careful," her skin actually tingled along the side he touched that night.

Reva watched as Annie looked off into space and couldn't help notice the slight flush of her face and the way her pupils dilated.

"He hesitated, partly out of fear I would be upset and partly because he couldn't actually see me and had to move in slowly. I put him out of his misery though by meeting him halfway and that was it, the floodgates opened and there was no going back," Annie shook herself out of the memory.

"Wow, you are totally in love with him," Reva assessed.

"I am."

"And that is awesome, but let's talk about the sex…" Reva poured more wine.

"It's amazing," Annie blushed.

"Your words are vague, but the look on your face speaks volumes."

Annie blushed brighter and excused herself to grab a shower. The shower was meant to clear her head, but as soon as she stepped under the spray she remembered that first morning, after a whole night of touching and talking and kisses and moans when Annie led Auggie into her shower and he washed her hair and she ran a sponge along his strong back. They wrapped themselves in fluffy towels and curled back up in bed and dozed all day.

"You know the best thing about sleeping with a blind guy?" Annie asked without provocation as she exited the steamy bathroom.

"Ooh, she's ready to spill the good stuff," Reva was curled on one end of the couch eating a piece of bread and cheese.

"Leaving the lights on and keeping my eyes open," Annie confessed something she hadn't said out loud yet not to Dani or even to Auggie himself.

"Huh," Reva looked thoughtful.

"I was always afraid of looking silly or was trying to hide my body in the shadows, now Auggie sees me the way he sees me and there is no way to hide it with darkness. So I leave the lights on and watch him, he is so beautiful," Annie sliced herself some cheese.

"I wonder if Auggie's ears are burning," Reva laughed.

"What happens in the safe house, stays in the safe house," Annie pointed a finger her way.

"Your secrets are safe with me," Reva put her hand over her heart.

The End


	39. Safe House 2

"Auggie, we need a place to go," Annie was trying to remain calm so her companions would too.

She steered the van through the streets of Toronto certain that Vargas' men were only 2 cars back. She could see the look of terror on Stu's face and Barber's breathing was quicker than normal in the back.

"I almost have it, give me 5 more minutes, can you keep them back?"

"Yeah, I can do another loop, there is a city bus blocking the passing lane," she reported.

"Excellent, keep the bus as your buffer and head to Yonge St."

Annie muted the phone while Auggie worked on an exit strategy.

"We'll be fine guys, you know as well as I do that Auggie can get me out of anything," she smiled and looked in the mirror to see Barber nod.

Sure enough in 5 minutes as promised Auggie had a new vehicle and a safe house ready. Annie drove the van into a parking garage, timing the lights perfectly so the hostiles were at least 2 minutes behind.

"Let's move," Annie ordered and the three of them and the most vital equipment was transferred to a sedan. Annie hotwired the car and pulled out a secondary exit. She could see Vargas' team enter the garage just as they exited, hoping the driver didn't get a good look at the new vehicle.

"We're out," Annie reported in.

"Are you clear?"

"At least 2 minutes ahead."

"Get on the highway and head for Mississauga, the safe house is ready. Our spotters are reporting bodies at both the airport and train station. I need a couple hours to get you a non-commercial flight. "

"Thanks Auggie," Annie smiled.

"Just get Stu back in one piece, he owes me $50 from the Caps Blackhawk game last week," Auggie teased knowing the youngest agent would be unsettled.

"As long as your priorities are in order boss," Stu smiled for the first time since the explosion at the warehouse sent them running.

Annie silently thanked Auggie, remembering how his casual humor helped her so much in her early days in the field. Everyone in the car trusted Auggie to know when to joke and when to be serious. Annie made the merge on to the highway and could not see their follow car any longer.

Auggie had sent the GPS coordinates to the new vehicle and it was only 30 minutes before they pulled into the private alley that serviced the upscale apartment building.

"This place is sweet," Barber announced as they did a Level 1 sweep of the apartment.

"Are all of our safe houses this fancy?" Stu asked as he checked out the white and chrome kitchen.

"No, this place must be brand new," Annie clarified.

"What do we do now?" Stu asked when Annie declared the place clear.

"We wait for Auggie," Annie took a bottle of water and a granola bar from her bag and sat on the couch.

"There must be something we could be doing?" Barber asked.

"Eric, you know Auggie has a whole team working, all we can do is get in their way. We wait," Annie smiled and took off her sweater.

"Anyone up for a game of cards?" Stu asked as he displayed the pack of cards he found in the kitchen drawer.

"Sure," Annie and Barber respond simultaneously.

Less than an hour later Annie had won all the Canadian cash the 2 tech guys had on them and they were negotiating the bets for the next round when the phone rang.

"Talk to me Auggie," Annie smiled as she put the phone on speaker.

"I have a cargo plane leaving in 4 hours. Are you safe?"

"Yep, this place is nice. We have snacks and water and I am crushing your guys at poker," Annie bragged.

"Ooooh, what are you playing for?"

"Cash. I was going to suggest strip poker, but I knew we would have to move soon and 2 guys in their boxers might cause unwanted attention."

"Annie is mean," Stu whined.

"Play nice kids," Auggie chuckled.

"So I just remembered I drank the last of the milk this morning," Annie confessed.

"No worries, I'll grab some on the way home, but it might end up being orange juice cause the store on the corner likes to change things up to confuse me," Auggie sighed.

"Louie is not cruel like that, I think his kids just don't pay attention to where they put stuff. I do not think it is a diabolical plot to get the blind guy to put OJ in his coffee," Annie grinned as she dealt the next round.

Auggie hung on the phone with them through that hand to see how it turned out and sure enough Annie won the stash of snacks they bet when the cash ran out.

"How does she do that?" Barber asked no one in particular.

"She's a spy guys, you are playing poker with a spy," Auggie explained.

"We're spies too," Stu defended.

"You are and you are brilliant in your own ways, but you deal with machines, she deals with people. She can read anyone in a room in seconds, I have never known an agent who could do it better," he sounded so proud of her.

"Awwwww, thanks Auggie," Annie squealed.

"You two are sickening," Stu said but there was a hint of a smile and with that he stood up and reclaimed his granola bar from Annie's winnings.

"We know," they said in unison.

"OK, the coordinates for the airfield are on your phone. Get home safely, see you at home," Auggie signed off.

The End


	40. Safe House 3

Auggie and Annie had been in the safe house in Paris for 36 hours already and Annie couldn't stop thinking about the difference a year made from their safe house in Barcelona. She was thinking this from her spot draped naked over Auggie's chest.

***36 Hours Earlier***

"Get to the safe house, if you see anyone in the building make it appear like you are not planning to come out for a couple days. We can't have suspicious Parisians wondering what you are doing there, all it takes is one nosey old lady at the café to mention the couple who appeared to be hiding out in the building," Joan instructed.

"OK," Annie said skeptically.

"I got it Joan," Auggie replied.

"It'll be 2 or 3 days, the safe house is stocked for longer, just hang tight. We'll get you out of Paris," Joan assured.

They were 3 blocks from the safe house and they moved quickly but carefully through the city, it was just turning dark and shadows were their friends in the City of Light.

"Just play along my dear," Auggie grinned in the elevator on the way up to the 16th floor hotel room the company owned in Paris as he kissed her passionately.

Annie was caught off guard, not by the kiss so much as the timing of it. She had been kissing Auggie now for months, but generally not in a work environment. Sure enough when the elevator arrived at 16, the doors opened and there stood a woman of about 70 and a man Annie assumed was her son. Annie squeezed Auggie's arm to indicate company, but he had heard the older woman's sharp intake of breath.

"Honey," Annie started flustered.

"Excuse us," Auggie began in flawless French and held up his hand with his cover wedding ring in place, "newlyweds," he smiled his best impish smile and leaned down to scoop Annie off the floor.

He proceeded to carry her down the hall as she giggled like the newlywed she was supposed to be. She tucked her head into the crook of Auggie's neck and took a peak and sure enough the little old lady was watching and smiling. Auggie got the room open and made a spectacle of carrying her over the threshold before re-opening the door and setting the "Do Not Disturb" sign.

Auggie put Annie down and locked the door behind them. When he turned back from the door Annie launched herself at him and pressed the full length of his body back against the door.

"Mmmm, enthusiastic much?" he asked when Annie finally let him breathe.

"Just maintaining our cover," she whispered in his ear as she pulled him towards the bed.

***Present***

Auggie surfaced from sleep completely unsure of what time it was, not only what time but what time of day or what day for that matter. While they had been keeping their protocols regularly the last day and a half had been a bit of a blur. A very sexy blur.

"You awake?" he asked his voice hoarse from the last vocal round of fun they had engaged in.

"I am," she nodded her head against his stomach.

"I'm feeling a little guilty," although he didn't sound very guilty.

"You decided to play the newlywed card, I have just been holding up my end of the story," she smirked against his warm skin as she traced figure eights on his hip.

"I don't think we have had this much uninterrupted time together in months," he sifted his fingers through her hair.

"It's going to be hard to leave, maybe Joan will forget about us."

"Last I saw online there was still quite a gang out there looking for us, I think we'll be here a little longer," Auggie's eyelids were getting heavy and he yawned.

"Go to sleep baby, you earned it, I'll make the next check in," she kissed her way up his body ending with a kiss on his lips.

She slipped out of the bed and took a quick glance back at the gorgeous man dozing in the bed. The bonus to their nearly constant naked state was the fact that they still had some clean clothes available and Annie slipped on one of Auggie's long sleeved tees and grabbed her book. She had managed to read only 20 pages between the near constant romantic moments.

Despite the peace and quiet Annie couldn't seem to focus on the book, she was remembering her first safe house experience with Eyal. There was no denying the chemistry she had with Eyal from that first day, but something always stopped her from taking that next step with him. Maybe 36 hours in a Parisian safe house would have cracked her, but she was glad they were friends and nothing more.

Annie checked the message board, no news, so she posted the standard comment that indicated they were still safe and sound. She watched a little French television and had a snack then decided a long bubble bath was in order.

That was where Auggie found her when he woke from his nap.

"Lounging in the tub? This mission is making you soft," he smirked.

"The mission, no? But this French-milled soap is amazing, my skin feels great," Annie raised a wet leg out of the tub and laid it across Auggie's thigh where he was seated on the edge of the tub.

"I can attest to that," he agreed as he leaned down and kissed the warm damp skin beside her knee.

"No update on the web," she said vaguely, they were pretty certain no one was listening, but it was best to keep things subtle.

"So the honeymoon continues," he waggled his eyebrows and returned her leg to the tub before joining her.

His body displaced enough water to slosh over the side and Annie giggled as they tried to arrange themselves in the large tub.

"I suppose I can suffer through one more day trapped alone with you," she teased as she leaned in and kissed him soundly.

The End


	41. Safe House 4

"OK, OK. Of course I trust you Joan, I just wish you weren't 5,000 miles away," Arthur assured his wife.

Auggie smiled as the big mean Arthur Campbell reasoned with his very strong-willed wife.

"OK, be careful. I love you," Arthur breathed a sigh of relief as he hung up Auggie's phone.

"I told you they were safe," Auggie had explained that Joan and Annie were in a safe house in Berlin, but Arthur insisted on speaking to her.

"I do not know how you do this all the time, sitting here while the woman you love is being chased around God knows where by guys with guns," Arthur sat on the edge of Auggie's desk.

"It is incredibly hard, but I trust Annie's spycraft and her ability to fight back," Auggie shrugged.

Meanwhile Annie was having her own crisis in Berlin. While things between her and Joan were definitely better than they had been last year they certainly didn't spend a lot of time together and now they were holed up in a safe house for at least 12 hours.

"I love you too," Joan smiled her small secret smile and ended the call with Arthur.

Annie was tending to the cut she got going through the window on the way out of the warehouse, it wasn't deep and the safe house had a good medical kit. Joan offered to help though as it was an awkward angle for Annie to reach herself.

"You didn't mention this to Auggie in your report," Joan pointed out.

"It is a surface wound, shouldn't require any medical attention," Annie shrugged the one shoulder that Joan was not tending to.

"Do you often hide things from him?" Joan asked not as an accusation, but out of curiosity.

"It is harder to now, he'll find this when we get home. Even before we were what we are now he could diagnose an injury I didn't report, he is freakishly perceptive," Annie grimaced as Joan wrapped the gauze a little tighter.

"It is terrifying what that man can deduce without sight and yet in other ways he truly is blind. He really had no idea how much you cared for him until it was almost too late," Joan shook her head in disbelief.

"There were many days I was glad he couldn't see the look of disappointment on my face or abject sorrow during the Parker days," Annie confessed.

"Well I am glad you two got it together," Joan patted her arm to indicate she was done.

"Really?" Annie was still surprised by Joan's support on this.

"Yes, really. You two are clearly good for each other, you have incredibly stressful jobs and having someone to share that stress with is a gift not many agents get. Not that it is all wine and roses, dating someone you work with can also be incredibly hard, marrying them harder still," Joan admitted and Annie choked a little on her water.

"Married?" she croaked out the word.

"You know, someday," Joan mentioned and Annie blanched a little.

"I guess I never pictured myself married," Annie admitted.

"Auggie might have something to say on the subject someday," Joan grinned and started boiling water for their simple dinner.

"Yeah," Annie was thrown a little by the discussion.

Of course Auggie was OK with marriage; he was planning to marry Parker for God's sake. Would he ask her someday down the road, would they survive the work/relationship traps. They had done a good job so far of balancing the two, but it had only been a few months.

"He is now and, truth be told has always been, completely devoted to you," Joan emptied some pasta into the water.

Annie could remember easily how quickly she trusted Auggie, how quickly he seemed to understand her and care for her.

"I don't think I would have survived that first assignment without him," Annie began to help Joan with dinner.

"When Rossabi caught you two at the morgue I knew I was in trouble," Joan sighed.

"I forgot his shoes, he walked around a morgue barefoot for me," Annie smiled.

"That was nothing compared to the couple of times he almost committed treason for you," Joan pointed a wooden spoon in her direction.

"I would do anything for him, you know that right?" Annie squeezed Joan's arm in an unusual show of affection.

"I know," Joan nodded.

*****555****

"Any news?" Arthur popped his head in as he was heading home for the night.

"Joan makes a mean jarred marinara sauce," Auggie reported.

"No one can cook pasta and jarred sauce like my wife," Arthur agreed.

"They have eaten and are settled in. Grayson's team will meet them at the extraction point in the morning. Annie has a minor injury she won't tell me about, but she sounds fine and Joan broke the heel of her boot," Auggie recited.

"Annie's hurt?"

"Not badly, but I could hear a little pain in her voice, Joan would force her to get help if she needed it. She thinks what I don't know won't hurt me," Auggie grinned.

"OK, I am heading to a dinner on the Hill and then home, don't hesitate to call if you need me," Arthur waved even though the gesture was wasted on Auggie.

"Will do," Auggie waved back even though he didn't know he was reciprocating.

Auggie finished some reports, it was only 6 PM in DC and he hoped Annie was asleep in Germany so he decided to head home too in hopes of getting some sleep while she slept knowing he would want to be up early for the extraction. Just as he was about to leave the secure line rang through.

"Anderson?"

"I cut my arm," she said her voice tired.

"In the safe house?" he played along with a smile on his lips.

"No, on the mission, getting out of the warehouse. I didn't tell you and now I feel guilty and silly," she was not sure why she was telling him.

"Is it OK? Did the bleeding stop?"

"Yeah, Joan wrapped it. It's fine, but I wanted to tell you everything."

"I'm glad," he leaned on the edge of the desk, "I'll kiss it better when you get home."

"I'll try to injure myself in more interesting places from here on," she laughed.

"Come home injury free and I will really make it worth your while," his voice dropped.

"You are ridiculous and I love you," she didn't care that the line was being monitored.

"I love you too and you should be asleep, you have a very early meeting with the man who is going to get you out of Germany," Auggie reasoned.

"Sweet dreams," and she hung up.

The End


	42. Safe House 5

Author's Note: A couple people commented on my mention of Eyal in Safe House 3 and if I was leading that somewhere. So this answers that. Like Annie I love Eyal, but I am "in love" with Auggie.

Annie should have known who Auggie's friend with the boat was, but still she was stunned to see Eyal approaching in a fisherman's jacket and cap.

"Why am I not surprised that you wound up in trouble again Neshama?" he smiled.

"I do seem to be prone to it. Can we move? I think my trouble is catching up," she nodded her head.

"Right this way," he slipped an arm around her shoulders and they strolled along the pier trying to blend in with the other couples at sunset.

Soon Annie saw a large sailboat and was pleased to find it was not actually called the "Flying Lavin". They boarded and wordlessly went to work preparing to disembark. Once they were safely clear of land Annie took off her hat and coat and approached Eyal at the wheel.

"I need to check in, I had to dump my phone," she smiled.

"Of course, I grabbed a burner phone for you," he produced it.

"Thanks, I'll just be a minute."

"Give Auggie my love and tell him he owes me more than a bottle of grappa for this one," Eyal winked.

"Litho type-setting and printing," Auggie answered the unsecure line.

"I need to speak with my account representative please," she followed protocol.

"One moment," Auggie switched the lines and ran a reverse security check on her new phone.

"Hello Miss Walker, how is the safe boat?" he smiled.

"A friend with a boat, huh?"

"I didn't lie," he shrugged.

"Eyal says you owe him more than booze for this one."

"He got you out, I can't actually repay him for that, but he can name a price- I am feeling more than generous."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Is the intel secure?"

"Yes, should I hand it off in Greece or bring it back to Langley?"

"Give it to Gibson in Greece, they are liaising with the Syrians on this. The bonus to that is you can proceed directly home when you land, where I intend to lock you up for 3 or 4 days and have my way with you."

"Government phones Loverboy," but she didn't sound all that admonishing.

"Ahhh Stu is on support services, got to give him something interesting to get through the night."

"See you tomorrow. If you are paying Eyal back I guess I will need to repay you so start making a wish list…"she teased.

"You do not want to know where my mind just went, even Stu doesn't want to know, get home safely and soon. Give Eyal my best," and with that the call ended.

"Still doesn't say good-bye…." She sighed.

"Auggie says hey and you can have anything you want within the confines of a government salary, so I hope you like Bud Light," Annie tossed the phone in her bag.

"That man loves you, I mean I knew it when you were in Russia, but he doesn't even try to hide it anymore," Eyal had set the course and came down from the wheel and offered Annie a drink.

"There is no need to hide it anymore," Annie said and was unsure if the non-reaction from Eyal was schooled or the result of his previous assumptions about her and Auggie.

"Good, I am truly glad for you both," he raised his glass in a toast.

Annie returned the clink and sipped the wine.

"I know you and I have been in some tight places and you have to know how much I love you Eyal, but it is different, it was always different."

"I know," he nodded and seemed resigned more than sad.

"I didn't understand it in the early days, but I could see the look on your face when you talked to him even in Zurich. When he was unavailable when you called the panic on your face and the way your voice would change when you did get him on the phone."

"You are not the first person to say that to me. I had no idea I was so transparent back then," she chuckled and finished her wine.

"The shower is small, but it is all yours if you want to clean up," he showed her around the cabin and they settled in for the evening.

"Thank you Eyal, for always showing up in a pinch," Annie said as she hugged him.

"What are friends for," he said with a genuine smile.

The End


	43. Scenes from Allen's

Author's note: Vignettes with no order or cohesive theme except they all take place at Allen's. Also, a warning, the first one uses the word 'ass" an awful lot….

Annie returned from the ladies room to find Auggie with a scowl on his face that was not there when she left.

"What's wrong?" she asked cautiously.

"Apparently your ass looks 'amazing' in that dress," he used air quotes so she knew he was mad.

"Excuse me?"

"As you walked away, the guys over there," he nodded his head vaguely in the direction the comment came from, "announced that your ass looks amazing in that dress."

"You sure they were talking about me cuz there are 30 women in here easy, several with very nice asses," she surveyed the room.

"They were talking about you. I think they assume since I am blind I am also deaf," he said that last part loud enough for them to hear.

"Calm down, they are drunk grad students or interns or pages or something, but I am now curious how good my ass looks in this dress," Annie sipped her beer.

"As I am intimately acquainted with your ass I am sure it looks lovely," Auggie slid a hand onto her leg.

"That sounded way dirtier than I think you intended it to," she laughed.

"Definitely sounded better in my head," he shrugged.

"You are adorable," she kissed him longer than normal for public but making sure the drunk guys new she was taken.

"I really wasn't going for adorable," his voice was low and warm against her ear and she felt her stomach drop.

"Time to go?" she asked suddenly despite their half-finished beer.

"Absolutely," he smirked.

***555***

Auggie could smell the guy's cologne before he made it close enough to speak.

"I was wondering if I could buy you a drink," the man said as he positioned himself between Annie and Auggie at the bar.

"I actually have a drink thanks," Annie raised her glass to prove her point.

"The next one then?" the guy's smile was as obvious as his cologne.

Annie could see the smirk on Auggie's face, he wasn't mad he was amused.

"There isn't actually going to be a next drink, my boyfriend and I are leaving in just a bit," she indicated Auggie who waved at just the right moment.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," the guy looked Auggie up and down.

"Totally get it, her beauty is blinding, I mean look what happened to me," he grinned and finished the last of his beer.

***555***

"How crowded is it? Sounds quiet," Auggie asked as Annie led him to a table.

"Just a few tables, it is a Tuesday."

"So what do you think?"

"I still think you playing darts is a bad idea, but I will just stay behind you," she laughed.

"I never played darts when I could see, no idea why I want to so badly now," he shrugged.

"I'll get you the Velcro ones for home," she smiled and kissed him softly as the waitress approached.

"He wants to play darts again doesn't he?" their favorite waitress asked.

"Yep," Auggie replied.

"Chips and salsa are on me if you don't throw any sharp pointy objects tonight, boss is around," the girl smiled at Annie.

"I think you're all just nervous that I'll beat you," he sighed.

***555***

"I think Stu needs a wingman," Annie indicated as she nibbled on a pretzel.

"Yeah?" Auggie looked concerned.

"Yeah, he is sweating a little and the girl looks kind of bored."

"Where are they?"

"Your 10:00. Don't trip over the table," she patted his arm.

"I'll try," he smiled and headed off.

Annie watched as subtly as she could as her man maneuvered around the crowded bar and clapped a hand on Stu's shoulder, flashed a grin at the woman and sure enough in 5 minutes was returning to the table leaving the potential lovebirds engaged in conversation.

"Do you miss it?" Annie asked as he retook his seat.

"What?" he asked sipping the beer Annie had refilled for him.

"Hitting on random women."

"Who said I gave it up?" he tried to look innocent.

"Har har. I think we both know you are too afraid of my roundhouse kick to mess with my heart," she poked him in the chest and he deftly captured her hand in his own.

"I don't miss it at all," he answered honestly as he kissed the pulse point on her wrist and felt it quicken under his lips.

"Good, because I would hate to have to inflict bodily harm. Now bodily pleasure I might be convinced to inflict, you ready to go?" he heard her scoop her purse off the floor.

"How's Stu doing?"

"Holding his own, but let me give him one more boost," Annie offered as Auggie finished his beer.

Annie got up and walked across the bar and kissed Stu on the cheek.

"Stu, Auggie told me what a huge help you were at work today, thanks so much for getting him out of there at a decent hour," her voice was full of cheer, her kiss innocent and her reference to Auggie indicating she was not a threat.

"No problem Annie. This is Jessica," Stu indicated the women sitting next to him.

"Annie Walker, so nice to meet you. I didn't mean to interrupt, but Stu is such a doll, just had to thank him. You two have a great evening," Annie smiled and turned back towards Auggie.

He stood as she approached and she kissed him in case Jessica was watching and just cause she wanted to.

"We good?" he asked as he took her arm.

"Oh yeah, you won't be the only one getting lucky tonight," she assured him.

The End


	44. In the Middle of the Night

Annie hadn't had a nightmare in months. She figured it was a combination of a busy work schedule and the bliss of sleeping in Auggie's bed whenever she was home. Tonight was different though. Despite the amazing dinner and fantastic wine and the unbelievable sex Annie's sleep was troubled by images.

She saw Lena morph into Joan who took aim and shot not her and Simon but Auggie and Danielle. Annie burst into the dream trying to save her sister and the man she loved while Joan laughed and told her it was useless. Finally Joan raised the gun one more time, but then she was Lena again and the 2 shots rang out and hit her center mass.

Annie was trained too well to call out or jump up, but her eyes popped open, her heart racing and she knew sleep would elude her for the rest of the night. She was glad it was Friday as she slipped out of the bed. She noticed the time, 3:00 a.m., as she saw a soft light from the street dancing across Auggie's back.

She padded quietly to the kitchen and poured another glass of wine before curling up on the couch with a book and a sigh of defeat.

Auggie didn't notice she was gone until he inadvertently reached for her and found cool sheets where her body had been. He slowly surfaced and listened to hear if she was just in the bathroom, but the apartment was silent and cold indicating it wasn't morning yet.

"Annie?" he called softly in case she was asleep on the couch.

"Hey," she responded in their endless game of Marco Polo.

He made a beeline to the couch off that one small sound and sat within millimeters of her. He leaned over and kissed the side of her head as she marked her place in the book. Then she turned into the kiss.

He could taste the velvety red wine on her tongue.

"Mmmm, you having a party without me?" he asked breathless after one long kiss.

"Never. I thought the wine would help," she moved her whole body onto his lap bringing the afghan with her.

Auggie stretched out and cocooned them in warmth.

"Couldn't sleep?" he furrowed his brow and she kissed it until the lines eased.

"I fell asleep very happy, but had a dream," she didn't need to say more.

"Do you have them a lot?"

"No," she shook her head and he felt her soft hair on his chest.

"Good," he squeezed her tight.

Auggie didn't need to tell Annie that he had nightmares too, not about his own accident any more but about Lena and about that afternoon in ICU as he listened, helpless, as they tried to bring Annie back to life.

"Why didn't you wake me?" "I didn't want to wake you," they spoke at the same time.

"You don't need to hide this from me," Auggie said seriously.

"I wasn't, I'm not. You were sleeping so peacefully, I truly didn't want to disturb that. I've gotten through a lot of bad dreams on my own, since I was a kid."

"I don't doubt that. You are very strong and very brave and I don't intend to diminish that, but you can you know? You can lean on me, I am as tough as I look."

"Right now you look rumpled and sleepy," she smiled and kissed him again.

"Don't forget sexy," he mentioned.

"If I had to point out every time you looked sexy there would be no time for anything else," she giggled and kissed him again.

"Should we try the bed again?" he hooked a thumb towards the bedroom.

"We could, but I might need a little help falling back to sleep," her voice was low against his neck and he could feel the words as much as he heard them.

"Are you coming on to me Miss Walker?"

"Always," she admitted.

That got a laugh out of him.

"How about I share the details of one of my favorite dreams?" Auggie sat up, taking her with him and in one fluid movement he stood with her in his arms.

"I think you will need to go into explicit detail so I fully comprehend all the nuances of that dream," she smiled as she dropped her head to his shoulder and let him carry her back to bed.

The End


	45. Interrupted

Monday

Annie returned after 14 days in a Nicaraguan jungle and only had time to squeeze Auggie's shoulder before she was shepherded off to a debrief that lasted until 8:00 pm. She emerged from the poorly lit conference room and squinted to see her boyfriend still typing away in his office.

"You waited?" she asked sweetly.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to come home with me or if you wanted to go to your place since you've been gone so long," Auggie sounded slightly unsure of himself.

"For future reference I don't care where we go as long as you go with me. I've missed you," her voice was soft and quiet and Auggie began to allow himself to feel how very much he had missed her for the past two weeks.

"My place is closer," he reasoned.

"Perfect, let's go."

They made it all the way to Annie's car which had spent 2 weeks in the same spot and had a decent layer of pollen on it before Auggie pushed her up against it kissed her deeply. Annie moaned deep in her throat and pulled him closer still.

"We're outside," her protests were weak though and she betrayed her words by scraping her nails down Auggie's back.

"We're not in the building anymore," he replied and moved his lips to her neck.

"Still very public," she pointed out but shifted her hips so he could get even closer.

Suddenly both their phones went off at once.

"Are you vibrating?" he smirked.

"I think we both are," she tried to regulate her breathing as she reached for her phone.

"Annie Walker" "This is Auggie" both answered.

"I'm still on campus," both said within seconds and clicked the phone off.

"Guess our reunion is going to have to wait a few more hours," Annie sighed and pushed away from the car.

Auggie just laughed and took her arm as they re-entered the building where Joan met them immediately.

"Sorry, but the code team broke one of the ciphers fast and I want you both on it in case it is actionable," she didn't sound particularly sorry.

"No problem," they both replied and walked towards Auggie's office.

"Hey, welcome back," Barber teased as they entered the room.

Annie just glared at him and turned around to get to work.

"Um Annie…."Barber started haltingly.

"Yeah?"

"You have something on your back, it looks like paint or…pollen," he got a little closer and brushed at the dusty yellow stuff.

Tuesday

The cipher team was rolling once they cracked the first code and Annie and Auggie were still working when the sun broke over the horizon. Each of them squeezed in a power nap and then put in a full 10 hour day.

They finally got to Auggie's place around 7:30 with take out in hand. Food won out over sex as both had been running on coffee and granola bars all day, but as soon as Annie stashed the leftovers Auggie was pinning her against the refrigerator.

"Mmmm, I remember this," she joked as his lips moved hungrily over hers.

She tugged him closer but he pulled the other way in an effort to get her to the bedroom and haphazardly removed clothes as they went. His knees hit the bed and they tumbled on to it, their lips never breaking contact and their hands tugging furiously at the remaining barriers of fabric. Just as Auggie got to the clasp on her bra Annie's cell phone chimed the song it always chimed when Danielle called.

A mutual groan resounded and Annie placed a hand on Auggie's bare chest.

"I haven't talked to her in over 2 weeks," Annie said guiltily.

Auggie just nodded not trusting his voice.

Annie slid off the bed and got the phone from her jacket pocket.

"Hey Dani," she answered with a smile.

"I'm so glad you are there," Danielle sounded terrible.

"What's wrong?"

"I think my marriage is really over," her sister dissolved into tears.

"Oh honey," Annie cooed as she sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed Auggie's hand.

He understood from her tone this wasn't going to be a quick check in and he kissed Annie on the forehead and retreated to the shower. Annie slipped on her bathrobe and took the call to the couch.

Forty-five minutes later Annie hung up having listened to her sister cry for most of the call, but glad she was able to provide some support even from 3,000 miles away. She yawned a deep, bone shuddering yawn and padded back to the bedroom.

Auggie was asleep, a towel still slung around his waist, his hair damp and snoring slightly. Auggie only snored when he was sick or dead tired. Considering they had worked about 48 hours straight she figured it was the latter. She covered him up and crawled in beside him, falling asleep almost instantly.

Wednesday

Annie woke to cool fingers dancing across her stomach and warm lips trailing down her neck.

"Mmmmm, what time is it?" she asked not daring to open her eyes in case this was a dream.

"Early, we have a little time," he answered vaguely between kisses.

Afraid they would be interrupted again Annie was not going to risk leisurely. Swiftly she flipped their position and crawled on top of Auggie, neither of them needing much time to get in the mood.

Just as she reached to remove her tee shirt she heard it, the fire alarm. She saw Auggie's jaw go rigid and his eyes dart about a little.

"This is a joke right?" he ran a hand over his face.

They stayed frozen for a minute, Annie straddling Auggie's lap and silently prayed the alarm would stop, a test or false alarm. Sure enough though Auggie's over-developed sense of smell kicked in.

"I actually smell smoke," he said as he sat up and helped Annie slide off.

She gathered clothes for him and shoes for them both. Auggie tried to dress around his rather obvious state of arousal. Sure enough out in the hall there was a smell of smoke and the sound of others thundering down the stairwell.

It took 20 minutes for the fire department to arrive, assess the cause and put out the small kitchen fire on the 2nd floor. By the time they made it back up to Auggie's they had less than 30 minutes to get ready for work.

As Annie reached for his hand to lead him out to the car, he took it and kissed it and did his best to look into her eyes and simply said, "Tonight."

He should have sent that request to Joan, because at 3:15 she came into Tech Ops and announced that Annie was due on a plane in 45 minutes.

Thursday

An assignment in Mexico would normally be welcome, but Annie was edgy and lonely.

"This sucks," she announced as she gave her report to Auggie.

"The mission?"

"No," she sounded petulant even to herself.

"I know," he tried to assure her as he always had even before, that everything would be fine, even them.

Friday

Annie got back to Langley at 9:00 pm, her report was done and proofed and she handed it to Joan.

"Everything here is solid, the suspect is in DEA custody and they want to grill him for a couple days. Can I please have 24 hours off?' she tried not to sound like she was begging.

"Of course, it is Friday, you can have 48 hours off. Nothing from this will get too hot before Monday," she held the file up.

"Thanks Joan," Annie smiled and headed for the door.

"Oh and Joan….?" Annie stopped and turned back.

"Yes Annie, you can take Auggie with you," Joan smirked.

Annie just nodded and closed the door behind her when she left. She made a beeline for Tech Ops.

"Hello boys," she announced.

"Hey Annie," Barber and Stu replied as Auggie just smiled.

"Time to go," she clapped her hands.

"But you just got here," Stu answered with a grin.

"Chop chop Anderson, time's a wasting," Annie bounced on her heels and swung her arms in anticipation.

The End


	46. Lost

Annie had been in a fairly remote part of Africa for the last few days. Her mission had gone well and Auggie had been strong and steady on the other end of the line, but they hadn't had much time to talk outside of mission-specific facts and figures. Annie was glad her flight got in at a decent hour and hoped to catch Auggie before he left for the office.

She opened the door and smelled fresh coffee and could hear music coming from the bedroom. She carried her bag up the short flight of stairs.

"Annie?" he called from the bathroom.

"Expecting someone else?" she chuckled.

"No, glad to see you though before I leave," he replied as he walked out of the bathroom and her breath caught.

There in all his glory was Captain August Anderson in his dress uniform. Annie grew up around military officers, it was not a new sight for her, but she had never seen Auggie in his dress uniform.

"W-w-w-here are you going?" she stumbled over the words a little.

"A funeral," he frowned.

"Oh god Auggie, I'm so sorry," she reached for his arm and squeezed.

"It's OK," his face was clouded over though with grief.

"I can go with you, give me 10 minutes," she kissed him softly.

"You just flew halfway around the world," he protested.

"I slept on the plane, I'm fine. Just let me freshen up," she argued right back.

Good to her word she was ready in 10 minutes, a black suit almost always at the ready. Auggie had already called the car service so they rode together, his hand in hers. Annie didn't ask who the funeral was for, she could gather her own intel and if Auggie wanted to talk she would gladly let him, but she knew better than to interrogate the mourning when it could be avoided.

The church was crowded with military personal of all branches and ranks. The pictures of the deceased showed a young man, younger than Auggie, in uniform and at home. Pictures of a wedding and a baby that Annie quickly matched to a crying woman and small toddler in the front pew.

The service was short and the words spoken sincere but vague, by the end Annie had no idea how Gavin Andrews had died. There was a small reception and Auggie was greeted by many people, some he seemed truly happy to see. Annie smiled and made small talk and kept one warm hand on his back where she felt the muscles clenched tight.

Auggie spoke privately to the widow and the pain etched on his face when he returned to Annie was nearly more than she could take.

"You ready to go?" she asked quietly and he just nodded.

She didn't question him when he pulled her close as soon as they entered the apartment and gently but insistently divested her of her clothes. He made love to her silently, only a soft sigh or swallowed moan escaping. Finally over grilled cheese sandwiches he began to tell her about Gavin.

"We met at Walter Reed. I wasn't a whole lot of fun to be around, but Gavin was a good kid. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury, but was recovering. We had some group sessions together. He kept in touch for a while, a lot of us did, and then drifted off when our lives evened out," he toyed with the label on his beer bottle.

"When did you hear from him last?" Annie asked as she traced circles on the top of his hand.

"When the baby was born, he sent an email with the pictures, I sent the little guy a gift, Janet sent a thank you note. Standard operating procedure for a new kid, everything seemed fine," Auggie shrugged.

"Auggie, how did Gavin die?" Annie was certain she didn't want to know the answer.

"He killed himself Annie. A wife and a baby and a house in Maryland and he took a gun…and he…" Auggie couldn't finish the sentence.

The noise Annie made was somewhere between a gasp and a hiccup, while she had suspected it and it certainly wasn't an unfamiliar story for the past decade it was still shocking to hear.

"That could just as easily be me, my brain was just as traumatized as Gavin's," Auggie took a long pull of the beer, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.

Annie wanted to protest, wanted to call him ridiculous, but she knew he was right.

"We don't understand how the brain works for people who aren't traumatized, we certainly don't know what is happening to those of you coming back from the war," she hoped honesty was what he wanted, she could switch to hollow placating words too, but he seemed to want to really talk and he so rarely did.

"I have known you for years now Auggie and while you had some fairly reckless emotional habits in the past you have never been aggressive or volatile," she was clinical in her approach.

"I've had a few aggressive and volatile moments….when Parker left I was not myself at all."

"I know and luckily you didn't hurt yourself or anyone else too badly in the process. I'm no shrink and I know you saw one, but obviously Parker leaving was a setback for you. I think you are over that," she fought her own tears and kissed his warm cheek.

"I am terrified that I could do something like Gavin did, he had a baby Annie, a little boy that needs him," and with those last words the tears that had clung valiantly to his thick lashed fell down his cheeks.

The End


	47. Rainy Day Roommates

Author's Note: This is going to be the last Chapter of Bits and Pieces for a little while….but do not despair as I plan to write some longer more in-depth stories based on some of the chapters here. By popular demand, the first will be a continuation of Chapter 25: Fabrication. This chapter, about a potential Las Vegas mission, has garnered the most requests for follow-up and will begin on Monday with 2 chapters 9the original and a new one).

Please send along your requests, if there is a Chapter here that you want a pre-quel or sequel to I would be happy to try! The stories will vary in length depending on how much I think I can creatively add. Fabrication is already 4 chapters long and going strong….in the meantime, here is Rainy Day Roommates.

Annie was used to traveling alone, since she was a teenager she had travelled the world all by herself. She had gotten used to traveling with Auggie the last couple years, their natural chemistry in all things translated to travel pretty well. Today, however, she had Auggie and Barber in tow and the current torrential downpour that cancelled their flight and literally flooded the engine of the airport shuttle to the nearest hotel were all conspiring against her generally sunny disposition.

"Let's just walk. It is less than quarter of a mile," Annie sighed as the shuttle driver attempted to turn over the engine.

"I can't see it but the rain sounds sheet-like," Auggie countered.

"We will get wet Princess, but we will also get to a place with towels, hot water, food…" she drew out the last word knowing her boyfriend's penchant for food.

"I say we go for it," Barber cast the deciding vote, he also liked food.

Auggie didn't argue, shouldered his backpack and followed Annie up to the front of the shuttle.

"Thank you so much, we are going to walk the rest of the way. We can call someone to come help you," she offered in fluid Italian.

"Oh thank you," the older man smiled at Annie.

Grateful that her tee shirt was a modest deep purple color Annie set foot outside the shuttle with Auggie at her elbow and Barber right behind. The three moved quickly, but despite that they were soaked right down to their skin when they walked in to the chilly hotel lobby. Annie wanted desperately to cross her arms over her chest upon the cold air hitting her wet self, but Auggie still held one of her elbows, so she prayed she didn't look too ridiculous.

They approached the front desk, leaving puddles in their wake, hoping against hope there was a room available in the small airport hotel. Annie smiled at the young Italian woman and launched into her fluent Italian.

"We were hoping you had 2 rooms available, our flight has been cancelled and the shuttle driver is stuck back on the road if you could send someone to help him," she reached into her bag for her wallet and passport which appeared somewhat dry.

"We are very full," the woman frowned but typed away at a computer and then called on the phone and asked for another driver to run out to help the shuttle.

"Anything really would do," Annie smiled again for good measure.

"I do have 1 room, it has 2 beds," the woman looked sympathetically at the small woman and two larger men.

"We'll take it and we might need some extra towels," Annie slipped her credit card across the desk not caring really how much it cost.

For their part Auggie and Barber stood stoically dripping onto the marble floor behind her. The desk clerk handed over three keys, pointed out the small bar off the lobby and wished them a pleasant evening.

The room was small and neat, certainly nicer than sleeping in the airport and it did have a nice bathroom with a deep tub. The beds were small, but Annie put Barber out of his misery and said Auggie could bunk with her despite whatever protocol might say. The CIA liked to exploit their personal relationship when it served their purposes, she might as well use it to their own advantage under the circumstances.

"I will let you have your very own bed, if you let me shower first," Annie offered her hand in agreement and Barber shook it happily.

"What if I wanted to sleep with Barber? No one asked me," Auggie pouted.

"Auggie, do you want to sleep with Eric?" Annie grinned.

"That is a sentence I never imagined you saying out loud," Auggie laughed.

"I do like to cuddle," Barber added and Annie barked a short laugh.

Annie handed Barber some towels so he could dry off a bit and pulled Auggie towards the bathroom with her, might as well be as efficient as possible. They left Barber in charge of ordering food and since Eric spoke hardly any Italian that might have proven foolish, but Annie was freezing.

"Just pretend you're ordering at the Olive Garden. Given the choice get something parmesan," Auggie encouraged him and waved as Annie pulled him fully into the bathroom.

"This is romantic," Annie teased as she and Auggie stripped off their wet clothes, "you and me trapped in a rain storm in Italy…with Barber."

"It'll be a story for the kids someday," Auggie said as he tested the water temps.

Annie froze at his words. Kids.

"So, I said that," Auggie realized, his face held the deer-in-the-headlights look he only got on occasion -usually when he said something potentially life-altering.

Luckily despite her warring emotions her body took over and a shiver loud enough to chatter teeth wracked her body as she stood in just wet undergarments. Auggie decided launching into a big long conversation about their future and potential offspring was not best done while freezing in a bathroom with someone else outside the door so he kissed her softly but deeply and slipped the last scraps of wet fabric off of her before they got under the warm water.

Once her body temp was up and she rinsed the cold water out of her hair, she smiled up at Auggie even though he couldn't see her.

"I am as committed to you as I could possibly be, you know that right? More so than any normal married couple with kids, I owe you my life and I hold yours in my hands, I cherish it," she kissed him once more and the topic was closed for the time being.

They managed to find a couple of semi-dry articles of clothing in the depths of their backpacks, they wouldn't win any fashion awards, but they were respectable enough for the room service guy.

After dinner the 3 watched some Italian soap operas that Annie translated while they drank a really good bottle of wine, finally Annie fell asleep exhausted from the day. Barber tried not to watch the way Auggie scooped her up to slide her under the blankets, the way he arranged her body to fit to his and kissed her forehead, the way she snuggled into him and slipped her hand under his tee shirt. He tried not to watch, but it was so natural and lovely.

Lots of people at the CIA wondered about Auggie and Annie, thought they were having some torrid hot love affair and Barber didn't doubt it from the actual electricity that followed them around sometimes, but it was more than that, way more from what he could see.

The End


	48. Alias

Author's Notes: A little bonus for Friday.

Annie left the office at 7:30 and Auggie was still buried in an extraction, she kissed him on the cheek and promised to wait up for him. It was nearly midnight when he made his way home. He found Annie curled up on the couch watching something with lots of shooting on the television.

"Mmmmm, you taste like chocolate," he commented after he kissed her.

"It was Ben & Jerry's frozen yogurt. I say was, because it's gone now," she dropped her head on his shoulder.

"_The CIA cannot get you out of this one_," a low voice spoke on the TV.

"Annie? What are you watching?" Auggie asked cautiously.

"Alias," she admitted.

"I thought we talked about this," he shook his head forlornly.

"I think I could pull off the wigs," she replied defensively.

"I think you could pull of the tight little dresses too, but this is fiction," Auggie ran a hand appreciatively along her hip.

"Her handler isn't nearly as handsome, smart or disarmingly funny as you though, but she fell in love with him anyway, guess we were fated," she smiled and kissed him softly.

"I didn't fall in love with Rodriguez when I was his handler," Auggie clarified his lips still touching hers.

"Fair point," she agreed.

"I'd like to handle you now Miss Walker," he grinned as the disarming side of his personality took over.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah, there is going to be a good deal of handling going on right now," he found the remote on the coffee table and silenced the inane CIA show.

"I do enjoy being handled by you, no one has ever handled me the way you do," she actually broke into a little chuckle by the end of that.

"Is there something funny about my handling techniques?" his faux sincerity was her undoing.

"No Special Agent Anderson, your handling techniques are first rate," she climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms and legs around him.

He kissed her soundly and ran his hands up under her pajama top to find her skin warm and soft.

"I think I need to handle you while not wearing pants," he mentioned as she squirmed in his lap.

"See now every time you are talking to me through coms I am going to imagine you without pants, this could be detrimental to my focus," she laughed, but that laugh turned to a gasp when Auggie abruptly stood up with her still wrapped around him.

Later as they dozed, their bodies tangled and warm, Annie returned to her original hypothesis.

"I think I look as good in a black stocking hat as Jennifer Garner."

"Huh?" Auggie sounded more asleep than awake.

"I look good in the all black with the stocking hat."

"I'm sure you do," Auggie patted what he thought was her head but was more shoulder.

"Her father was awesome," she said wistfully.

Auggie perked up a bit at that, Annie never talked about her dad.

"Hmmm?"

"_I don't sell airplane parts, I never sold airplane parts_," she quoted in a Victor Garber accent.

"Do I need to _handle_ you again because you aren't making any sense?" he tried to work up a little energy.

"That was how he read her in, she thought he sold airplane parts."

"Oh."

"I was almost that cool when I read Danielle in, of course I thought I was going to die that day, really puts things in perspective."

"What a day that was," Auggie sighed.

"I was so in love with you back then," Annie admitted.

"As opposed to now?" Auggie was confused.

"No, I mean I loved you so much back then and was so stupid about it," she chastised herself.

"We made some mistakes, hell I almost married another woman."

"Vaughn did that on Alias, but he thought Sidney was dead and then the other woman turned out to be an evil spy. You don't think Parker worked for a shady underground network of evil, do you?"

"No, pretty sure she isn't an evil spy."

"Probably not," Annie agreed and yawned.

"Go to sleep Agent Walker," Auggie smiled and kissed her good night.

The End


	49. Greater Than

Author's Note: I have had a line in my head for Annie for a while and could not figure out who she should say it to….the answer came to me.

"So I don't want you to freak out," Auggie smiled his most charming smile.

"Nothing good ever comes after that kind of opening," Annie grinned.

"Someone is joining us for lunch," Auggie said causally.

"Parker?" it was the first thing Annie thought of and it definitely made her freak out a little.

"No not Parker, why in the world do you think we'd be having lunch with Parker?"

"I don't know, you said freak out I think Parker."

"Curious, I will tap that particular thought well later, but it is not Parker, it's my mother.

Annie stopped mid-stride and Auggie bumped in to her as a result.

"Your mother?" Annie's voice was thin and high.

"I do have one, did you think I appeared fully formed on the planet?" he laughed.

"We're meeting your mother? Right now? And you failed to tell me this until we were within steps of our destination?" it was possible she was sounding a little hysterical.

"Studies show most stress is the result of anticipation and not actual conflict itself, I thought I would spare you the anticipation."

Auggie was still holding Annie at the elbow so he noticed when she bent over and brought her forehead to her knees.

"I think I might hyperventilate," she muttered her hair obscuring her face from that angle.

"Why? My mother is a very nice person, you are a very nice person there is no reason the two of you should not get along famously."

"Well, I am sleeping with her son, her baby no less and I tie you to a city that is not home and I, oh god, did I mention we have sex, she's not going to like that," Annie stood back up her face red with both embarrassment and displaced blood from hanging it upside down.

"I am aware that we have sex yes, but we won't be having it in front of my mother, it is just a lunch date. And we are about to be late for it, might as well make a punctual first impression," Auggie squeezed her elbow and she began walking towards the restaurant.

Carolyn Anderson had a slight advantage as she observed the door of the restaurant. She had arrived early and knew she would get a few moments to take in her son and his girlfriend before they knew she was there. Sure enough they entered right on time, Auggie laughing, his hand at the woman's elbow while she gesticulated wildly with the other arm her face open and full of humor.

While they waited for the people in front of them to be seated, the woman – Annie was her name, reached over and straightened the knot on Auggie's tie and he kissed her forehead gently his lips forming words there she couldn't make out.

They were shown to the table and Carolyn stood to greet her youngest son who she hadn't seen in months.

"August, you look so good," she gushed as she wrapped her smaller frame around his larger one.

"Mom, this is Annie Walker. Annie, my mother Carolyn," Auggie made the introductions.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Anderson," Annie smiled her widest smile, despite her reservations she couldn't help but love the woman who brought Auggie into the world.

"Oh Annie, the pleasure is mine," the woman beamed in response.

Once the greetings were out of the way, Annie brushed Auggie's hand and placed it on the back of the chair nearest his mother and took the one beside him. He folded his cane and Annie took it and stowed it with her purse under her chair.

A waitress took their drink order and Annie mentioned a few things on the menu Auggie might like and asked him questions about what he felt like eating. When the time came, he ordered for both he and Annie after his mother had been asked for her order.

Conversation was easy, Carolyn had plenty to report on the 4 other Anderson brothers and their respective families. She asked Annie about Danielle and the girls and Carolyn lamented on how few girls there were in the family, the boys producing boys of their own mostly.

"My nieces are pretty spectacular," Annie gushed.

After they ordered coffee Auggie excused himself, he felt it was safe to leave the two women alone. Annie handed him his cane and plotted a clear path for him to the men's room.

"I noticed the signs had Braille on them, no excuse to wander into the Women's room," Annie squeezed his hand.

"You do that 10 or 12 times and you develop a reputation," Auggie grinned and set off.

Carolyn smiled that open honest smile Auggie had.

"You are not at all what I expected."

"At least you had time for expectations, Auggie told me you were going to be here about 7 minutes before we met," Annie laughed.

"You poor thing, that must have been terrifying."

"He was right, the anticipation would have been worse than the reality, by far."

"You and my son make quite the pair, you are so effortless together. I haven't seen him so comfortable with someone since Iraq. You help him without making it seem like you help him, you look at him when you talk to him, you tease him. It all seems so very normal between you two," Carolyn could feel herself getting emotional so she stopped.

"It is very normal, we took to each other very quickly even before we started dating. I don't see Auggie as less than because of his disability, if anything I see him as greater than, he amazes me every day," now it was Annie's turn to stop before she revealed too much.

"You love him," it wasn't a question.

"I do," Annie smiled and sipped her coffee.

Auggie returned as the women were discussing marriage equality, he knew they wouldn't fight about politics so he just took his seat and listened for a minute. Soon the waitress appeared with a piece of chocolate cheesecake and 3 forks.

"I knew you both wanted it even when you politely declined, so I grabbed the waitress on my way back" he smiled.

"You could eat this whole thing and no one would be the wiser, I have 1 bite and it is an extra 20 minutes on the elliptical Buster," Annie teased but took a bite anyway.

"It is really good," Carolyn confirmed.

The End


	50. Scenes from the Apartment

Author's notes: like Scenes from Allen's this is a series of unrelated vignettes taking place at Auggie's apartment.

"You know what I want?" Annie asked from the couch.

"A puppy?" Auggie guessed as he approached with beer.

"No."

"World peace?"

"Well yes, but that wasn't what I was referring to.'

"Me?" he smirked.

"Always, again not what I was referring to."

"Tacos?"

"No. Tacos?"

"Sorry that's what I want, what do you want?"

"A pedicure."

"Good thing I stopped guessing or we would have been here all night," he smiled and pulled her closer on the couch.

"Winter is hard on a girl's feet, they need some serious attention," she wiggled her toes for her own benefit and noticed the polish was nearly worn off every toe.

"I think you have earned a little girl time, you chased bad guys all over Central America for the past week," he said quietly.

"I miss Danielle," she said out of nowhere.

"I know, I'm sorry I'm not more girlie."

"I am perfectly happy with your masculinity Auggie, you can't be everybody. Maybe I'll call Reva," she suggested.

"I think I am more girlie than Reva," he snorted.

That earned a smack to the stomach.

"You know what I want?" Auggie asked.

"Tacos?"

"She got it in one," Auggie grinned and reached for the phone to order dinner.

***555***

"Thanks for the ride Barber, Annie's back so I'll be good in the morning," Auggie mentioned as they made their way down the hall.

"No problem, thanks for letting me borrow that encryption software."

Auggie opened the door to his loft and allowed Eric to enter before sliding the door closed behind them.

"It's right here on my desk," he mentioned as he made his way with ease through the familiar landscape of his apartment.

"Auggie, that you?" a sleepy voice from the landing emerged.

"Yep," he replied.

"Hey Annie, oh my…." Barber trailed off.

"Eric, hey didn't know you were there sorry," there was a little squeak and the sound of retreating footsteps.

"What just happened, was she naked?" Auggie looked perplexed.

"No, not exactly" was all Barber could get out as he tried to erase the image from his mind.

Auggie handed over the software Barber needed and Barber made a hasty exit. Curious Auggie high tailed it up to the bedroom to investigate.

"What did you do to Barber?" he asked with a smile.

"Nothing, I'm not quite fully dressed, I was napping, my body has no idea what time zone it is in, I took a shower and was suddenly exhausted," she tried to explain.

"So what exactly are you wearing?" he asked his voice turning that gravelly low that turned her knees a little weak.

"You should come over here and find out," her voice placed her very close to the bed, but standing.

His hands reached and found her shoulders covered with fabric, familiar fabric.

"Is this mine?" his voice still low.

"Mmmhmmm," she murmured as she led his hands to the collar of his button down dress shirt.

His fingers trailed down the separated panels of material to determine just how few of the buttons were actually engaged at the moment.

"Barber saw you in this?" he asked but he didn't sound angry.

"Yep," she shook her head heat flushing her cheeks from embarrassment or the nearness of Auggie it was unclear to her.

"Poor guy might not recover," he chuckled as he skimmed his hands down to see exactly where the shirt stopped and Annie began.

He leaned in to kiss the hollow of her throat and he was overwhelmed by the combination of her scent and his own lingering on the shirt. It had an immediate and noticeable effect on him.

"Are you still tired?' he asked his lips right against her ear and his tongue tracing the delicate shell.

"No," it was less a word and more a moan.

"Good," he turned them in one fluid movement, confident he knew where the bed was and had her flat on her back.

He tugged her bare legs to hang over the edge and went to work undoing the scant few buttons that were concealing the rest of her.

***555***

Annie woke and realized 3 things right off the bat: it was still dark, she had to pee and she was freezing. Despite the last realization the second took precedence and she scooted across the room shivering. Upon her return from the bathroom she realized why she was so cold. There in all his glory was Auggie Anderson completely cocooned in the blankets. He looked like a mummy he was so wrapped up and on her side of the bed there was barely the edge of a sheet for warmth.

She returned to the bed and finagled her way closer to Auggie and under his haven of covers. He rolled towards her and wrapped her up in his arms instantly warming her.

"Cold?" he mumbled as he assessed the temperature of her skin.

"You have all of the blankets," she whined.

"Sorry," he mumbled again clearly not really awake.

Annie didn't care, she was warm now.

***555***

"Hey Annie, where's my bathrobe?" Auggie called from the bathroom.

"Ummmmm," she stalled poorly.

"You're wearing it aren't you?" he sounded amused.

"It's warmer than mine and it smells like you," she tried to butter him up.

"Uh huh, you don't see me wearing your clothes," he reasoned.

"My silky pink bathrobe would be stunning on you," she snorted.

"What am I supposed to wear?" he pouted.

"What you have on is just fine," she noted taking in the low slung towel around his waist.

***555***

"What would you like for dinner?" Auggie asked as he seemed to be staring into the refrigerator.

"Mustard," Annie answered as she sorted the mail.

Auggie turned around his eyebrows knit together.

"Mustard is a condiment, it is not a meal."

"OK, so something that goes well with mustard on it, I really want mustard. Or salsa, salsa would be good too," she offered.

"Most people plan their meal around a protein or carbohydrate, not a condiment."

"I am not most people," she flipped through the latest issue of The Economist.

"True that," he smiled.

The End


	51. Scenes from the CIA

Note: Like Scenes from Apartment, only at the office….

"How did you find me?" her voice was raw from crying.

"I implanted a GPS tracker in you while you were sleeping," he shrugged.

She gasped for a second thinking he was serious.

"Elaine told me she saw you come in here," Auggie made his way across the room and found the wall she was sitting against, sinking to the floor beside her.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, her head landed on his shoulder and that did her in, the tears started fresh.

"I'm so sorry," he cooed over and over.

"Kids died Auggie and it was my fault. Kids," she started breathing erratically and he rubbed circles on her back hoping she would not make herself sick.

"It was not your fault Annie, Markov set that bomb, not you," his voice was firm and steady, it was his Captain Anderson voice and she loved it.

"I didn't get there in time."

"Also not your fault, the intel we had was bad, the timetable was wrong or he changed it, either way there was no way for you to know. It wasn't as if you were lounging around at the spa, you took down his whole cell Annie, you did that. Yes some children died and that is unimaginable, but how many people did you save?"

"I know. I know, I just need to mourn this one Auggie, it was too much to see those kids' bodies, it hurt so much."

"I know," and he did as she well knew he had seen his fair share of inhumanity.

So he held her and he stroked her hair off her tear-streaked face.

***555***

"Auggie?" Annie asked concerned from the doorway.

"Yep," he answered clearly on auto-pilot.

"Are you OK?" she approached cautiously.

"Uh huh," he replied his hands flying over the Braille documents in front of him.

"You're bleeding," she came closer still.

"I am?" that got his attention.

"Not a lot, but there is definitely blood on your forehead," she was right beside him now and reached her cool fingers up to his brow.

She heard the rush of air as she touched him, like he had been holding his breath until just then.

"I whacked myself in the head with one of these folders," he indicated the 30 or so manila folders on his desk.

"It left a mark, but I think you'll live," she took the napkin from under Auggie's coffee and dabbed at the small cut.

"When this audit is over I plan to send a strongly worded anonymous letter to the Washington Post outlining the volume of trees that had to die for bureaucracy," he leaned into her touch.

"It'll be over in a few days," she ran her hands through his hair when she was done with the cut.

"When it is I would like to go somewhere and sleep for 12 hours and then reacquaint myself with you, feel like I haven't seen you for more than 10 minutes at a time," he reached a hand to her waist.

"Annie, I need you," Joan didn't even look up as she passed Auggie's office.

"Be careful with the file folders," she kissed the injured spot on his forehead and was gone.

***555***

"I think they're sleeping together," Stu mentioned as he blew across his hot coffee.

"Who?" Barber asked around a mouthful of donut.

"Them," Stu pointed across the bullpen where Annie and Auggie were discussing a report.

"Um yeah," Barber laughed, "any other breaking news: the Berlin Wall is down; Kennedy was assassinated?"

"Wait, they are? For real? How long?" Stu looked confused.

"No one knows for sure, except maybe Joan, but rumor is November," Barber shrugged.

"How was I not read in on this?"

"Why in the world would you need to be read in on this?"

"Well you clearly were?" Stu sputtered.

"Can you picture Auggie sitting me down and telling me he and Annie are sleeping together?"

"No," Stu pouted.

"Clearly I am just a better spy than you," Barber reached for another donut.

Stu glared at him.

"OK, I work an earlier shift, I am here every day when they show up together. It is also possible I saw them making out in Annie's car one day," Barber admitted.

"Huh," Stu took it all in.

Just as he was about to launch into a new round of questions Annie entered the room.

"Hey guys," Annie greeted.

"Hey," Barber waved and indicated donuts which Annie pounced on.

"Thanks Eric, I am starving, was totally running late this morning and missed breakfast," she smiled as she took one.

Auggie appeared next with the print out Annie needed.

"Hey boss, donuts, want one?" Eric offered.

"Thanks Barber, I am starving I missed breakfast this morning," he turned towards Annie with a smirk.

"Oh my god, I am such an idiot," Stu muttered and wandered off.

"What was that?" Auggie asked.

"Nothing, Stu has just finally come to terms with the fact that I am a superior intelligence operative," Barber grinned and went back to his desk.

***555***

"Auggie, stop pacing you are making me nauseous," Joan sighed.

"She has been radio silent for over 30 minutes Joan," Auggie stopped and raised a hand to the wall to steady himself.

"You have to trust your Operative Auggie and not worry about your girlfriend."

"Isn't part of my job to worry about my Operative though?" the line blurry even to him.

"It is tricky, I know. What is the plan when she calls in?"

"Depends on which way she went out of the building. I have an easy extraction if she went towards Halle Strasse, but if she went the other way towards the river it will be harder," Auggie was about to launch into how much harder when Joan's assistant popped in.

"She's on the line."

"Annie?" Joan hit the blinking red button on her phone.

"I need to get out of here, where's Auggie?"

"Right here, where are you?" Auggie's nerves from earlier gone and replaced with his steely resolve.

"I'm in a boutique on Halle Strasse, number 47," she reported.

"Good girl," he smiled.

"Can you see hostiles?"

"No, I think they headed towards the river, but not sure how much time I have."

"If it is clear step out on the sidewalk, look to your left there should be a blue sedan with a Mingus tribute festival bumper sticker on it," he grinned at the last detail.

"I see it, my path is clear," they could hear street noise through her phone.

"Keys are under the visor, drive it to the border, Magnuson and his team will meet you there. The way you drive, I will tell them to expect you in an hour," he chuckled.

"Thanks Auggie," the car started up and Annie clicked off the phone.

"You're welcome," he said to the dead air.

"Good work," Joan smiled and he could hear it in her voice.

"I think it is time for lunch, can I get you anything?" Auggie grinned.


	52. Home Part 1

Author's note: So Piper mentioned on Twitter that she enjoyed the first week of shooting season 4 and tagged a string of people including Anne Dudek…is Danielle back for at least some of Season 4?

Annie would normally have ignored the ringing phone during dinner, but it was her sister's specific ring tone, so she smiled lazily at Auggie, squeezed his hand over their dinner and reached for the phone.

"Hey Dani," she answered.

"Hi! Where in the world is Annie Walker tonight?" Danielle sounded giddy.

"Annie Walker is blessedly home right now," she answered and saw Auggie's lips quirk into the smallest proprietary grin.

"No she's not," her sister sing-songed.

"Huh?" Annie was confused.

"I am standing in your home and you are not in it."

"Wait you're here in DC?"

"Yep and I repeat where are you? You're not still at the office are you?" Danielle's voice held a frown.

"No," Annie grinned as she looked over at the naked man leaning against the headboard eating a sandwich in bed, "definitely not still at the office."

"So you're not at work and you're not here. Come to think of it, it looks like you haven't been here in a while: plants are wilted, no sign of make up or most of your clothes…"

"Are you going through my closet? Danielle, this family is only big enough for one spook," Annie laughed.

"Are you living with Auggie?" there was hint of glee in her voice now.

"Pretty much," Annie shrugged as they hadn't really discussed it, but convenience dictated they spent 90% of their time at Auggie's.

"Have you guys had dinner?" Danielle asked and Annie blushed remembering back to an hour ago when they got home.

***555***

"I am starving," Auggie mentioned as they exited the elevator across from his loft.

"Mmmm," Annie replied noncommittally as she tried not to focus on the way his hips narrowed and his pants fit just so.

DC spring had sprung and the layers of winter outerwear were gone allowing her near constant observation of her very well-built boyfriend.

"What do you feel like having…."Auggie's question stunted by Annie's lips on his and her hands at his belt before he could register what was happening.

Not one to argue though he managed to maneuver them to the nearest flat surface in the kitchen.

"Now I'm really hungry," he mumbled lazily against her neck when they were through, her arms and legs still wrapped around him and his knees a little weak from the effort.

"Go to bed, I'll bring you a sandwich," Annie whispered in his ear and kissed her way across his cheek to capture his lips.

She unwrapped her limbs from his body, still sitting on the counter he had deposited her on. He reached down and pulled on his boxers, kicking off the pants that pooled at his ankles. He gathered what he could reach of their clothes and headed towards the bedroom shaking his head. Annie watched his tattooed back as he moved before sliding off to grab his shirt and slip it on.

She made 2 sandwiches and grabbed a bag of baby carrots and a bottle of water and brought the picnic to bed.

"Sex in the kitchen and dinner in bed?" Auggie grinned when she presented the feast, she sat opposite him with the food in the middle like a real picnic.

"You once told me I always do the unpredictable, I need to keep you on your toes Auggie, wouldn't want you to get bored," she raked her nails along his calf.

"Trust me Walker, my life hasn't been boring since the day I met you."

***555***

"We're eating now," Annie answered her sister's question with the blush still in her cheeks.

"OK, could you guys meet me for a drink then? Maybe somewhere near Auggie's so you have time to get dressed while I head over," Danielle teased.

"Um sure, both of us?" Auggie perked up again at this, Annie ignoring the innuendo in her sister's comment, she was right after all.

"Yeah, I'd love to see Auggie. I haven't seen him since you were in the hospital," Danielle didn't need to say any more.

"OK," Annie smiled and gave Danielle the name and address of a bar on Auggie's block.

"Eat up Loverboy, we are meeting Danielle for a drink in 30 minutes," she grabbed a half of a sandwich and hopped up to find something to wear.

"Thirty minutes, there is no way we can squeeze 2 showers in, we'll have to combine our efforts," he implied as he finished his dinner.

"You always suggest joint showering as a conservancy of both time and water, but yet we spend twice as long in there saving neither," Annie countered as she found a pair of jeans and a shirt in her drawer.

"What can I say, once I have you wet and naked time stands still," he laughed and she threw a tee shirt at him.

"No throwing things at the blind guy," he admonished.

TBC…


	53. Home 2

Danielle noticed them the second they entered the bar. Auggie was laughing and Annie simultaneously looked at him and guided him through the crowd with practiced ease. Annie's hair was curly and clearly still damp, Auggie's was its usual barely controlled chaos but Danielle would bet if she ran her hands through it it was still damp too.

Annie spotted her quickly and plotted a course through the odd Wednesday night crowd. Once they were at the table she took Auggie's hand from her elbow and put it on the back of a chair to orient him before launching herself into Danielle's arms.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you were coming," Annie said by way of greeting.

"I wanted to surprise you for once and I am here for a whole week so I figured at some point you would actually be here to surprise. Hi Auggie," Danielle moved from her sister and brushed her hand against Auggie's.

"Hello Danielle," he smiled and opened his arms to the woman.

Danielle wrapped her arms around him and inhaled a very strong whiff of shampoo, yep freshly showered, the both of them. Danielle had a fleeting moment of jealousy at the early days of romance.

"It's never this crowded in here on a Wednesday," Annie commented looking around at the mostly female crowd.

"I think there was a speed dating thing going on," Danielle replied.

Annie shrugged and looked for a waitress, the couple she could see looked harried.

"I'll just go to the bar," Annie surrendered, "what color beer would you like?" she squeezed Auggie's thigh under the table.

"Mmmmm it's spring now, we need to move on to the wheat based beers, so something the color of your hair please," he grinned and Annie kissed him quickly.

She pointed to Danielle's half empty glass of wine, "Chardonnay?" and Danielle nodded.

Auggie produced his wallet and just handed it over. Annie jogged around a group of young drunk women and was out of ear shot when Danielle turned to Auggie.

"How do you know what color her hair is?"

"Danielle, I have listened to men describe Annie to me for over 3 years now, but the funniest moment ever was the night a very drunk coworker of ours compared her hair to the beer he was drinking. I think she was flattered, but I like to tease her about it every time I have a wheat beer," he grinned.

"She looks good, happy and healthy," the last word was followed by the final swallow of her wine.

"She is healthy and I think she's happy, I hope she is, I'm happy. She's happy you're here," Auggie found Danielle's hands clasped on the table and patted them before he babbled further.

"I am so glad," Danielle sandwiched Auggie's hand between her two.

"Hitting on my boyfriend again?" Annie snarked as she maneuvered the 3 drinks onto the table without spilling.

"He is awfully cute," Danielle smiled and released Auggie's hand.

"Again?" Auggie asked with curiosity.

"I was in 7th grade and Kevin O'Malley asked me to the school dance and he and his dad showed up to pick me up and this one over here, with her additional 4 years of puberty and, you know, _breasts_, came flouncing into the room in half a shirt and derailed my whole evening," Annie sighed dramatically.

"Oh Annie, I wasn't hitting on Kevin, I was hitting on his father," Danielle smirked.

"I missed so much growing up with only brothers," Auggie sipped his beer.

"We had some wicked fights," Annie laughed.

"Do you still have that bald spot where I pulled out your hair?" Danielle reached over and combed through Annie's damp hair.

"It grew back thank you very much," she patted her hair defensively.

The three joked and laughed and drank for a couple hours until Danielle stifled a yawn.

"OK, even though it is 3 hours earlier in my body the flight did me in, I am done. If you are still here on Saturday can we do a girls' day, no offense Auggie," Danielle smiled.

"None taken, she's all yours."

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"Didn't you just tell me you desperately needed a pedicure?" he reasoned.

"It's settled, I'll make the appointments," Danielle stood and the other 2 followed.

Annie and Auggie waited as Danielle got a cab and then walked the few steps down the block to Auggie's apartment. Auggie slid the loft door open for the 2nd time that night and Annie flipped the light switch and laughed.

"What?" Auggie asked in midstride.

"I didn't do a very good job cleaning up, be careful there are apples all over the floor," she bent down to retrieve a few of them.

"Huh?"

"Earlier, we knocked over the bowl on the counter with the apples," she tried to jog his memory.

"Oh earlier when you couldn't make it 50 feet to the bed? Then?" he smirked and she wanted to admonish him, but he was right.

"Did you know?" she asked cryptically as she tried to wrangle all the apples.

"Know what?" he replied legitimately confused.

"Did you know that once we started this," she tugged him close and kissed him soundly, "we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off each other?" she proved her point by unbuttoning his shirt and walking him back towards the bed.

"Yes," his voice was already thick with desire.

She stumbled and hit the back of her heel on the steps leading up to the bedroom. She pulled Auggie down with her and he braced himself for the fall so as not to crush her, but the laws of physics resulted in enough contact for Annie to moan, "now" against his lips.

TBC…


	54. Home 3

"We're getting closer to the bed," Auggie laughed as he tried to untangle their limbs and half-removed clothes.

Annie just tilted her head back and tried to catch her breath.

"Come on, let's get you into bed," Auggie tugged on her hand and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you," she kissed his cheek and found enough energy to move them and their ruined clothes into the bedroom.

Settled in bed Annie turned towards Auggie as he started to drift off to sleep.

"Do you remember when Reva and I were grabbed by the Belarusians?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, I was so worried," he combed his fingers through her hair.

"You told me you weren't," she teased.

"Oh Annie, hadn't you caught on to my denial back then?"

"It was mutual denial. Anyway, that was when Danielle found my civilian passport and Branch intervened and you got the passport stamped and texted her and all that, remember that?"

"Sure, running interference for your cover with Danielle was a big part of my job back then," he laughed.

"When I got home that night she was so proud of herself for figuring it out and 'getting me home' she really thought I would be stuck in Scotland, had no idea I was in so much more trouble than that. She had no idea that you were the one who got me home."

"Jai got you home, I just told him where to look."

"But that is just it, whether it was Jai or Eyal or some random extraction team, they're able to bring me home because of you. I was so overwhelmed that night, I felt so safe and secure that between you and Danielle I would always get home and I would always have a home to come back to and now I think, well, I mean…" she started to hesitate.

"What?" he prompted really curious about where she was going with this.

"I feel like this is home now, you and me. I don't just come home to DC, I come home to you. Home was such a fluctuating state when I was a kid, a year here and a year there. Sometimes four of us but often just Danielle and Mom and me and the past few years just Dani and me. I'm not sure what I am supposed to be feeling here Auggie, but I feel so much more than I ever have and I am going to stop talking before I terrify you," she laughed and ducked her head against his chest in embarrassment.

"Wow Annie, I don't know what to say, that's a lot to process, I thought we were just having some fun…." he trailed off as he felt her body go completely rigid.

Then he laughed, "I'm kidding Walker, look at me," he trailed his fingers up her arm noting the goose bumps that he created until he reached her chin and tilted her face towards his.

"I love you, I have for a very long time and I want nothing more than to hold you like this every night and when that is not possible due to the demands of the job then I want to know that you are fighting as hard as you can to come home to me, to us, to this apartment or some new apartment we find that has even more places we can have sex that aren't the bed," he ended his little declaration with a kiss.

"So if Danielle tells me Saturday that she is putting the house on the market," Annie voiced the concern that she had since Danielle moved last fall.

"You will not be homeless and I won't make you sleep on the futon at your safe house," he assured her.

"Thank you," she kissed him once more.

"We can go get your stuff right now, you clearly don't feel like sleeping," he offered half serious.

"I'm too tired for that, but I probably have enough energy to make out with you for a little while," she crawled up to capture his lips.

***555***

Annie met Danielle at the Spa on Saturday ready to be pampered, read trashy magazines and catch up on all things girlie with her sister.

"Annie, I don't want to ruin today, but I have to tell you now, we are selling the house. I was hoping to see you again before today so we could talk about it before now, but…."

"Work was crazy, I'm sorry Danielle, but it's OK, I have been preparing for this for a while and Auggie and I talked the other night, after we saw you," Annie admitted.

"So you won't hate me forever if I kick you out…again," Danielle amended.

"No, honestly I am hardly ever there anymore. It is lonely without you and the girls and I have a hard time being alone there since everything happened," her hands went instinctively to her scars.

"It is a big old place for one person," Danielle agreed.

"Auggie and I are in a good place, we want to live together, this is just the impetus I needed to make it official, so no I won't hate you ever," Annie hugged her.

"Yeah, I guess forcing you to move in with your hot soldier boyfriend is not the worst punishment in the world," Danielle rolled her eyes.

***555***

"Hey roomie," Annie greeted when she got home later that night having spent the entire day being massaged, manicured, pedicured, hair saloned and well-fed.

"Hey," he smirked, "have a good day?"

"I had a great day, I feel like a new woman," she deposited herself in his lap on the couch.

"Not sure how I feel about that, I really liked the old one," he pouted.

She kissed him and his hands found their way under her tee shirt.

"Mmmm, soft….and you smell really good," he commented as he stroked his hands along her sides.

"I bought the oil she used for my massage," Annie hinted.

"Fantastic," Auggie murmured his hands and lips roaming her body.

"Auggie?" Annie asked her tongue darting out to capture his ear lobe.

"Mmmmm?"

"Take me to bed," she purred.

He stopped mid-seduction and looked at her, an eyebrow quirked.

"Bed Miss Walker? How novel, I thought you'd never ask," he laughed that warm low laugh that made her stomach flutter from the beginning.

She stood up and walked slowly from him, her hand trailing over his shoulder before leaving him entirely. It was hard to walk away seductively from a blind man, but she was trying.

"Hey Walker," he called to her and she turned.

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home."

The end


	55. A Day at the Beach Part 1

A Day at the Beach Part 1

Note: I will finish my Random Title Shuffle, I promise, but I spent the weekend at the beach and took a swim in the chilly Atlantic and this came to me…..

Danielle heard the engine coming up the dirt road and ran to the front window. Sure enough Annie turned the Corvette into the gravel drive of the cottage Danielle had rented for a week on the Delaware coast. Danielle could hear Bruce Springsteen coming from the stereo and her sister and her boyfriend had matching grins on their sunglass-covered faces.

Annie killed the engine and hopped out of the car, she walked around the front of the car and met Auggie to guide him inside, only instead of offering her arm as she usually did she leaned against him and kissed him. His hands found her hair and her's the small of his back.

Danielle knew she should turn away, but they were mesmerizing. The kiss was serious, but suddenly Annie pulled back, a huge smile on her face. Auggie said something Danielle could not make out and Annie laughed, a free open laugh, her head back her ponytail swinging with the effort of it.

"OK, you two, stop putting on a show for the neighbors," Danielle called from the front porch.

Danielle gave Annie and Auggie a tour, Annie interjecting bits of information that would help Auggie's mobility. They dropped their bags in the big airy room at the far end of the house that Danielle thought would be best for the couple, both for Auggie to maneuver and for their privacy.

"The girls are already on the beach, I'm packing some snacks and I'll see you down there?" Danielle left the two alone.

Annie walked Auggie to the door frame and he traced the wall of the room clockwise and she told him what everything was before he encountered it. As he completed the circuit he reclaimed his place in her arms.

"Very nice," he smiled, "but I have one question."

"What's that?" she asked as she unbuttoned his shirt.

"Does that door have a lock on it?"

"In fact it does," she clicked the lock and the sound was all he needed.

He walked her back to the bed pulling her shirt off over her head.

"It is a really good thing you do not drive that car to work every day," he commented as he worked on her shorts.

***555***

Half an hour later Annie led Auggie down the short sea grass lined walk to the small private beach, the squeal of seagulls was matched by Chloe and Katia when they saw their Aunt and Auggie approach.

"Annie!" sand was flying as they ran full force.

"Whoa whoa whoa little monkeys, you'll knock us down," Annie laughed as she disengaged her arm from Auggie and dropped to her knees to hug her nieces.

"Did you have a good nap?" Katia asked.

"Huh?" Annie looked puzzled.

"Mommy said you needed a nap after your drive," Katia explained.

"She did, did she? We're fine," she laughed and stood, brushing her arm back against Auggie and the 4 of them proceeded to the compound Danielle had created of chairs, umbrellas and tables.

Annie positioned Auggie at a chair and surveyed the spread.

"Looks delicious Danielle," Annie pointed out.

"Glad you could enjoy it," Danielle smirked and Annie blushed a little.

Annie stripped off the sundress she had covering her bathing suit and laid it over a chair.

"We had to apply our sunscreen," Annie clarified.

"Sun protection is very serious business," Danielle agreed.

"Annie, where is your bikini?" Chloe asked.

"What sweetie?" Annie asked still smirking at her sister.

"You usually wear a bikini and mom says something about how she could where a bikini if she hadn't had babies. Oh my god, did you have a baby?" Chloe's eyes got huge and Danielle tried not to laugh.

"Um, no Chloe, I didn't have a baby. Don't you think I would have told you if I had a baby?" she tweaked the little girl's nose.

"And, this is a bikini," she held her hands out to the side.

"No it's not," Katia joined in, "your bikinis were always really small."

"Were they?" Auggie joined in.

"This is just a different kind of bikini," Annie explained the tank top style two-piece she was wearing and Auggie heard the change in her voice.

He knew of course why her bathing suits had changed since last summer, her scars were in particularly obvious places when wearing a bathing suit.

"I'll be the judge of this. Let me see," Auggie held up his hands and wiggled his fingers enticingly.

"Auggie…." Annie warned.

"I'll be good, I promise," he grinned.

Annie approached and placed his hands on her hips. He slid his hands up and over her bare stomach.

"Yep, definitely a bikini. It has 2 distinct pieces and a bikini has 2 distinct pieces, bi means 2. If this was only 1 piece it would be called a unikini," he declared.

"That's not a word," Katia laughed.

"It's not? It should be," Auggie frowned.

The girls ran off, happy with Auggie's revelation about bikinis and Annie thanked him with a kiss to his forehead and a glass of iced tea.

***555***

"I'm hot," Annie announced and got up and stretched, "can I interest you in a swim?"

"Sure," Auggie agreed and followed her to the water's edge.

"Ooooh, cold," Annie squealed when the small waves lapped over her toes.

"Not like Sri Lanka?" Auggie smirked.

"Or the Red Sea?" she countered.

"Ouch," he grinned.

"I think this ocean is just perfect for us. You can't just walk right in, you have to take your time, learn to trust that it won't stop your heart if you give yourself over to it," she waded them further out as she made her analogy.

"But, when you do give in to it," she fell back into the cold water and quickly surfaced shivering, "it completely…takes your breath away."

Auggie smiled and let her pull him under.

TBC…


	56. A Day at the Beach Part 2

A Day at the Beach Part 2

Annie and Auggie acclimated to the water quickly and soon were just floating aimlessly, bobbing along with the soft waves, the sun warm on their faces.

"We're coming to get you!" the solitude interrupted by high pitched voices and lots of splashing.

Annie tried to locate the ocean floor and realized they had drifted quite a bit.

"Hang on guys, it's too deep here, let us come to you," Annie oriented Auggie in the right direction and the two slowly paddled in a bit.

Once she could stand comfortably she encouraged the girls to swim out, they had a ball with them.

"Auggie, I read online about these balls that have bells in them, I had Mom order one so we could play," Chloe said shyly as she shook the ball.

Annie brought her hand to her mouth, certain she was going to cry at the look on Auggie's face.

"Wow Chloe, that was so thoughtful of you. I'd love to play, toss it here," he caught the ball easily and soon the four of them were playing a makeshift game of water polo.

"I'm tired," Katia mentioned after a prolonged period of treading water.

"Climb on board Kat, I'll tow you in," Annie offered.

"I'll get you Chloe, but you have to navigate," Auggie offered as the older girl hung on to Auggie's back.

Four very wet and thirsty polo players appeared in front of Danielle who had enjoyed an entire uninterrupted hour with her book. She poured drinks as Annie and Auggie deposited the girls on a blanket before returning to their chairs.

"Mom, can I get a tattoo?" Chloe asked seemingly out of the blue.

"Um, no Chloe," Danielle replied confused, "you're 11."

"Auggie has one."

"He's not 11," Danielle smiled.

"Tattoos last forever Chloe, what would you get if you were to get one now?" Annie asked and Danielle shot her a dirty look.

Annie made a face that indicated she had this under control.

"Well, I don't know," Chloe thought about it.

"I'd get a turtle," Katia joined the conversation.

"Turtles are nice, I liked unicorns when I was your age, but I wouldn't want a unicorn tattoo now. You need to have a really good reason to get a tattoo, something that will mean something your whole life, you really need to be a grown up and make a sound decision," Annie finished proud of herself.

"Why did you get your tattoo Auggie?" Chloe asked as she sipped her juice.

Annie should have seen that coming.

"I was in the Army," Auggie started.

"You were in the Army?" Chloe asked confusion evident on her face.

"I was, a long time ago, the guys in my unit were part of a special group and we were allowed to get this tattoo, only certain soldiers get it, it was important to me, like your aunt said, you need to have a real good reason for a tattoo," Auggie finished and Annie smiled at Danielle.

"Were you in the war?" Chloe was putting the pieces together.

"I was," Auggie answered honestly.

"Is that why you are blind?" she stood up and got closer to Auggie, a serious look on her face.

Annie and Danielle were frozen watching the scene unfold.

"Yes," he nodded.

"What is it like?" she asked standing right in front of him now.

"Being blind?"

"No, war."

Annie gasped and Auggie turned towards her assuring her it was OK.

"Chloe, war is a terrible terrible thing, but sometimes it happens and you can rest assured that there are lots of brave men and women protecting this country," he gave her a small smile.

"Thank you," she said in a small voice and kissed his cheek.

Auggie wasn't sure if she was thanking him for the answer or his service but he just nodded and hung his head. Chloe rejoined her sister who was napping on the blanket and Annie looked at Danielle, tears mirrored in their eyes. She approached Auggie, his head still hung, and leaned over and kissed his salty wet hair.

***555***

The girls fell asleep on the blanket and the adults had a quiet conversation about Danielle's business and life in California. Finally Danielle got a glimpse at the time.

"We need to wake them up," she announced.

"Oh, they look so peaceful, can't we carry them up asleep," Annie protested.

"If they sleep now, they don't sleep tonight. Trust me, you want them to sleep tonight," she grinned.

"Got it," Annie agreed.

Two sleepy girls and 3 adults managed to get all the gear up to the porch in one trip. Auggie headed in to shower as Annie and the girls shucked corn and Danielle went to the fish market for crabs.

When he emerged, freshly showered and bare foot, Annie took an appreciative glance before cutting into the watermelon before her.

"Mmmmm, smells like summer out here: watermelon, corn silk, sunscreen…." he leaned in and sniffed her neck.

She rewarded him with a kiss.

"Ooooh Corona too," he smiled as he tasted the light beer and tangy lime on her tongue.

"You guys kiss waaaaaaay too much," Katia declared dramatically.

"Really?" Annie looked confused and Auggie just grinned.

"Really," Katia confirmed.

"Huh, if anything I think we need to kiss more," Annie challenged and returned her lips to Auggie's.

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Katia squealed.

Annie noticed Chloe staying very focused on her watermelon.

"OK, let's clean this up and you guys are going to help Auggie set the table while I take a shower."

TBC…


	57. A Day at the Beach Part 3

A Day at the Beach Part 3

"Danielle, that dinner was unbelievable," Auggie exclaimed as he leaned back in the lounge chair, pulling Annie back against him.

"Nature did most of the work, local ingredients my friend, make all the difference," Danielle replied modestly.

"Dishes are done and the girls are watching Finding Nemo," Annie reported from her spot snuggled up to Auggie as the sky begun to turn pink around them.

Danielle finished her Corona and smiled at the two love birds on the lounge chair.

"You two are adorable," she smiled.

"Really? Cause Katia thinks we're gross," Annie giggled.

"Katia is 8, I hope she thinks boys are gross for a long long time, but I know that isn't going to be the case. I caught Chloe kissing a boy in the back yard," Danielle revealed.

"That explains why she was so quiet while Katia was teasing us. She is 11, I was kissing boys at 11," Annie confessed.

"You were?" Auggie and Danielle both replied.

"Little Jensen Cavanaugh, we lived in Florida then," Annie filled in for Danielle.

"I was kissing boys in Florida too, but I was 14, geesh Annie."

"I let him touch my stomach too, not sure why I thought that was sexy," she giggled.

"You little trollop you," Auggie waggled his eyebrows as he took a sip of his beer.

"Fess up Anderson, when was your first kiss?" she smacked him lightly on the chest.

"I was 13, I had braces, it was at a school dance in the cafeteria and it was exactly as awkward as all of those details imply," he cringed.

"I'm glad you got over it," Annie smiled and kissed him with great embellishment.

***555***

"Oh god Annie," Auggie bit back the moan that went with the declaration.

"Shhhhh, you have to be quieter than that," Annie admonished as she looked down at his beautiful face.

"If you wanted me to be quiet, you really shouldn't have done that," he chided.

"What?" she replied innocently, "this?"

He growled and flipped her underneath him slowing the pace and enjoying the taste of her sun-kissed skin.

"You locked the door right?" he asked as he ran his hands the length of her legs.

"Y-yyyes," she stuttered as he kissed the underside of one slightly-sunburnt knee.

"Good. I'm happy to discuss my accident with your niece, but I'll be damned if I'm going to explain the birds and the bees," he chuckled and returned his lips to hers.

"I'll spare you that when the time comes," she assured him.

***555***

"Oh my god, that was perfect," Annie kissed him thoroughly, her body completely languid and draped over his.

Auggie just nodded unable to actually form words. His fingers threaded into her hair, warm and damp at the roots. The overhead ceiling fan chilling their bodies caused her to shiver against him and he rolled her under him, pulling the sheet up over their bodies and warming her with his own.

He laid his cheek against her chest and within seconds she felt his breath even out, her own followed suit.

Sometime shortly thereafter Annie's phone rang. She reached for it on the nightstand, Auggie still sleeping against her body.

"Hello," she answered quietly without even looking at the screen.

"Annie, it's Joan, sorry to bother you on vacatrion but I need you to meet me now, bring Auggie."

"We're not in the District," Annie shook her head to clear it.

"I know where you are, I can meet you at the gas station at the exit 14 turn off, 20 minutes," Joan hung up without further information.

"Auggie, we need to get up," Annie rubbed his shoulder.

"Yep," he answered but made little effort to move.

Finally they were both upright, dressed and had splashed some water on their faces to wake up.

"We can't take the 'Vette, it'll wake up the whole neighborhood," Auggie noted.

"I thought of that. Danielle's rental is a Prius, hopefully the keys are in the kitchen," Annie padded down the hallway and was rewarded by the glint of a silver key ring hanging by the back door.

Annie and Auggie pulled into the gas station 19 minutes after Joan called.

"Thank you for coming and I am sorry for interrupting your vacation," Joan seemed sincerely sorry.

"I've learned to have a different definition of that word since I started working for the company," Annie sighed.

"This is a simple surveillance mission. We've tracked a known associate of the Boston Marathon Bombers here to Rehoboth, he is renting a cottage about 2 miles from your sister. He is not a threat, but we do have permission to tap his phones and we need you to review the taps and if, and this is very unlikely, if there is any need for intervention we wanted someone who was close by," Joan finished and handed the folder over to Annie.

Annie reviewed the materials.

"I assume you brought us some equipment, we didn't pack it with our sunscreen," Auggie piped up.

"Yes, it is a simple set-up. I also grabbed some clothes that might be more discreet if you need to infiltrate the home,"Joan placed a large silver case in Auggie's hand.

"Cat burgler clothes," Annie grinned.

"I figured you didn't bring a black stocking hat on your beach vacation," Joan cracked a smile.

"We've got it covered Joan," Annie squeezed the woman's hand.

"Really glad our room has a lock on it now," Auggie interjected with a smirk as he held up the case of equipment.

"Thank you, I don't have to tell you how important this case is to the DPD," Joan said nothing else and was gone.

"Want a Slurpee?" Annie asked.

"Grape please," Auggie smiled.

They quietly entered the beach house through the kitchen door, returning the keys to the hook by the door. As they padded back down the hallway to their room they were interrupted.

"Joy-riding in the middle of the night?" Danielle was sitting in the dark living room.

"Hey Danielle," Annie moved in front of Auggie hoping their two bodies could shield the big government-looking silver briefcase.

"I got up to get some water and noticed the keys to my car…and the car was missing. Then I noticed you two were missing. Everything OK?" Annie could make out the worry on Danielle's face.

"Everything is fine, we couldn't sleep, had a craving for Slurpees and the Corvette is so loud, we took the Prius," Annie smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, is that all? You aren't leaving are you?"

"No, we are not going anywhere, except back to bed. See you in the morning," Annie gracefully maneuvered her and Auggie and the briefcase down the hall and into their room.

"This is going to be fun," she blew out a breath of frustration as she leaned back against the closed door.

TBC….


	58. A Day at the Beach Part 4

A Day at the Beach Part 4

The next day dawned warm and bright, the sun waking both Annie and Auggie for different reasons. Annie squinted against it while Auggie stretched into its warmth.

"Whatimeizit?" Auggie mumbled lazily.

"A little after 10, can't remember the last time I slept this late," Annie leaned up on her elbows to see the clock over Auggie's body.

He already had a slight tan after one day in the sun and Annie couldn't help but kiss her way across his chest. Suddenly the laptop on the floor by the bed beeped. Annie reached over Auggie and grabbed the ear bud and listened.

After a couple minutes she pulled the bud out and returned to kissing Auggie.

"I assume that was nothing?"

"He invited a girl over to go swimming. It didn't seem like code, he is staying in a beach house. She agreed, said she'd bring lunch, he asked for crab cakes from Joe's. Auggie we can't stay in here all day waiting for him, Danielle will get suspicious and think we are working or worse having sex all day…."

"I can multi-task," he offered as his hands found her hips and pulled her closer.

"Can you multi-task some equipment that will allow us to leave this room?"

"Yes," he nodded resignedly.

"Thank you, I am going to shower," she kissed him again and slipped out of bed.

When Annie emerged 15 minutes later, showered and dressed in a different bathing suit Auggie was sitting in the middle of the bed, still naked and surrounded by computer equipment.

"Done," he raised his hands in victory.

"Nice," Annie admired the view.

"This will allow us to roam freely; it has a half mile radius so we can even take a walk on the beach later, find ourselves a private spot to explore. It will vibrate if there is a call, the computer will record anything, we can return immediately and review the conversation," Auggie held up the small chip.

"You are a genius," she kissed him.

"You're going to need a lot of sunscreen," he announced as he explored the completely bare back Annie's suit revealed.

***555***

It was afternoon by the time Annie and Auggie actually made it down to the beach. The girls were eating tuna fish sandwiches, their wet hair plastered to their heads.

"You two look very guilty," Danielle whispered as Annie leaned across the table to grab some grapes.

"What?" Annie instantly thought of the work they were doing.

"You look exhausted…in the best possible way," Danielle smirked.

"Well, it is vacation," Annie grinned and popped a grape in her mouth.

"Auggie, will you help us build a sandcastle?" Katia asked.

"Sure, but I have to warn you I am not a very good architect," he grinned.

"Can you get the water?" Chloe looked up at him from her spot in the sand.

"Manual labor I am good at. Where's the ocean?" he grinned.

"Your 12:00, it is a clear path," Chloe instructed and handed him a couple of large pails.

Danielle watched intently as Auggie navigated, noticed how his gate changed when the sand turned from soft and dry to hard-packed and wet. She watched him wade out to mid-calf and lean down to fill the buckets.

"He is something else," she mentioned off-handedly.

"He is pretty incredible," Annie agreed as he turned precisely 180 degrees and made the trip back.

"Your water, my ladies," he delivered the large pails and sank down in a crouch to help dig.

"Earth to Annie," Danielle waved her magazine in front of Annie's eyes.

"Sorry, Dani, I was distracted," Annie kept her eyes focused on the 3 people building a sand fortress in front of her.

"He's good with them," Dani read her mind.

"Yeah," Annie's voice was suddenly hoarse and she reached for her iced tea.

"Do you want that?" she indicated the scene in front of them.

"Honestly I don't know."

"Because of Auggie…." Danielle treaded lightly.

"No, not at all. Because of work," Annie turned her gaze to Danielle to show her how conflicted she really was.

"Oh Annie," Danielle softened her eyes and squeezed Annie's hand.

"It is part of why I fought my feelings for Auggie, as if I knew it would be too good, that I would fall in love with him too much and want this for us. With Ben and Simon I knew it wasn't long term, I knew it wasn't forever, it was easy. This is not easy, it is messy and it is complicated and it is so amazing," Annie whispered.

"I don't know whether to be jealous or sad," Danielle frowned.

"Neither, be happy for me. I am, really happy," Annie smiled.

***555***

Sandcastle building proved to be hard work and Katia was napping and Chloe reading under the shade of an umbrella as Annie and Auggie strolled the coastline. Annie was looking for shells to decorate the sandcastle and Auggie was looking for a chance to kiss Annie without an audience.

Just as he got his arms around her and his lips on hers he felt something against his thigh.

"Are you vibrating?" he asked distractedly.

"Mmmhmmm," she replied lost in the kiss for a second.

Suddenly the both realized what it was and broke apart. Annie looked around.

"There is a jetty of rocks between us and Danielle. We can probably get back to the house without making excuses," Annie laid out the plan, "It is also the shortest route back."

"If she sees us she is just going to think we are going back to bed, the woman thinks that is all we do," Auggie took Annie's arm as she began the trek back.

"She isn't far off," Annie laughed.

They made good time up to the house and Annie replayed the call that had gone through. It was an incoming call from an unknown number.

"I think we have something," she replayed it one more time, there was a little static and the Russian was fast and clipped.

Auggie helped clean up the audio a little and she translated the entire conversation.

"He's meeting the bombers' sister. Tonight," she reached over and squeezed Auggie's leg.

TBC…


	59. A Day at the Beach Part 5

A Day at the Beach Part 5

"Annie, get the photos and that is it, we have nothing to hold either of them on, but if we get the images of the meet we can turn it over to the FBI," Joan instructed.

"Understood," Annie nodded as she pulled on a clean pair of shorts and slid on some sneakers while talking on the phone.

"What is your approach?"

"Water. Auggie is securing us a boat right now, the park is accessed by a very narrow roadway, we'll have a better chance and a better view from the water. They are meeting at a gazebo, we have the coordinates on a sat map," Annie relayed.

"Good work Annie, call me when you're done," Joan ended the call.

"We good?" Annie asked as Auggie pulled a tee shirt on.

"Yep, I texted you the address of the boat slip. How do we get out of here without arousing suspicion?"

He asked his hands finding their way to her waist.

Annie and Auggie had always touched each other more than normal friends out of necessity. She would squeeze his hand or his shoulder, lay a hand against his chest to get his attention or reassure him of something he couldn't see in her face. This tactile nature had adapted so smoothly to their intimate life, their hands in slightly more delicate spots, the touch lingering, the pressure greater or tantalizingly softer.

"I got this, follow my lead," Annie kissed him because she could and led him out of the room.

"There you are?" Danielle grinned, "I was going to call in the Coast Guard, but I had a suspicion you were up here."

"Sorry," Annie looked slightly embarrassed.

"You can spend your vacation any way you want," Danielle smirked.

"Speaking of, Auggie got a call from a buddy of his who has a boat," Annie began and Auggie caught on.

"Old Army buddy of mine, just came up from North Carolina, invited us out for dinner on board. Hope that doesn't throw a wrench in your plans Danielle," Auggie gave his best charming smile.

"Not at all," Danielle smiled the tiniest twitch in her jaw indicating to Annie she didn't completely buy the cover, but she wasn't going to argue.

"Thanks, we might be late. Don't worry about us," Annie hugged her sister.

"No more than usual," Danielle whispered in her ear.

***555***

"This would be romantic if we weren't tailing potential accessories to domestic terrorism," Auggie mentioned as he wrapped his arms around Annie.

"Ha!" she laughed as she trained the binoculars on the gazebo in question.

"The meet isn't for 45 minutes," Annie reported.

"Wanna make out?" he squeezed her a little.

"Always, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to review the photos of our marks, make sure I am photographing the right people," she slipped out of his arms.

"I suppose," Auggie sighed.

"This goes well and I will show you a good time Sailor," Annie winked for her own benefit.

Annie reviewed the images Joan had provided and Auggie tweaked the reception on the parabolic microphone he had set up. He had just about completely filtered out the wind and bird noise when Annie slipped a warm hand against his bare knee.

"Ready?" she asked.

"I am," he grinned and slipped her a discreet earpiece to match the one he had in his own ear.

They made their way to the front of the boat. Auggie sat back and listened as Annie positioned herself on his lap with the camera. They had to make it look to anyone passing by, or their marks if they were paranoid, that they were just a couple taking pictures of the gorgeous coast…and each other. Annie kept moving the camera from the shore to Auggie snapping pics and laughing.

"Here we go," she whispered as the mark approached.

She leaned forward over Auggie to snap some shots, Auggie taking advantage of their position to tug her tee shirt up and kiss along her stomach, maintaining that cover.

"She has something in her hand," Annie reported.

"A weapon?" he asked from his position near her navel.

"No, looks like a bag. She's handing it over," Annie mentioned as she continued to take shots.

Auggie heard the click that indicated the computer was recording what they were hearing. The conversation was brief as the computer clicked again and there was silence. Annie slid her way down to sit properly in his lap.

"She handed him a duffle bag, said 'this is what you asked for' and left," Annie shrugged.

"Could be actionable, we need to get the tape and the photos to Joan," Auggie lifted her off his lap and made his way across the small boat to the computer.

Fifteen minutes after they transmitted the info Joan called.

"Good work. We have given everything to the bureau now, they are taking it from here, they have field agents enroute from Dover. You can return to your vacation," Joan sounded genuinely pleased.

"Let us know if we can do anything else," Annie offered and hung up.

"That's it?" Auggie asked from his spot behind the computer.

"That's it, I hope Joan tells us what comes of it," Annie stood behind him, her hands on his shoulders.

Auggie powered down the computer and stowed all the equipment.

"This boat is awesome," Annie finally noticed the cabin below.

"Yeah?" Auggie asked with a grin.

The water was fairly calm, the boat rocking just the slightest bit with the tender waves of an inlet. The sun had begun to set, tinting everything orange and glinting off of Auggie's dark hair like gold. Annie climbed back up from below deck and took his hands, led him towards the stairs.

"What are we doing?" he grinned.

"I promised to show you a good time and there is nobody around within ear shot," she mentioned.

"Yeah?" the grin grew.

"Yeah. You can be as loud as you want," she kissed him and managed to lead him down below without hitting either of their heads.

"This is turning out to be quite the vacation," Auggie growled and walked her right back and up against a wall, the unyielding surface forcing their bodies together at every delightful point.

"There's a bed down here," Annie pointed out.

"I'm good right here," he shrugged and resumed kissing her.

TBC…


	60. A Day at the Beach Part 6

A Day at the Beach Part 6

Eventually they made it to the small bed in the cabin, Auggie finding horizontal surfaces as useful as vertical ones.

"You know what I like about you Walker?" he asked, his voice rough from exertion.

"Don't embarrass me with the full list, one or two items will suffice," she grinned up at him from her spot nestled against his chest.

"You under-promise and over-deliver," he chuckled.

"Huh?"

"If that was a good time, I am curious about your definition of great…or exceptional…or mind blowing," he punctuated each adjective with an affectionate squeeze.

"Oh I am just getting started," she chuckled as she wriggled herself down his body.

***555***

"I'm really hot," Auggie announced when Annie was done showing off.

"No arguments here," she yawned.

"Actually hot, we raised the ambient temperature down here," he laughed and wiped at the sweat at his hairline.

"We could go up on the deck, probably cooler up there," she suggested and slid off the bunk slipping his tee shirt over her head.

Auggie wore his shorts and they emerged each half dressed to the dark star-filled sky. There was a little relief but the night was warm and humid and still.

"Do you want to head back tonight?" Auggie asked as he found the cooler and handed Annie a beer.

"It's already almost 10:00, the girls will be asleep. Can we stay here tonight?" she asked not sure of the arrangements with the boat.

"Sure, we have the boat as long as we need it," Auggie shrugged.

"Someday you will need to introduce me to these friends of yours that have access to everything you need at any time," Annie laughed and twisted off the cap of her beer.

"Man's got to have some secrets," Auggie smirked and Annie snorted beer at the thought.

Auggie still had plenty of secrets.

"It's really dark, there are a few stars, but the sky is pretty flat. No other boats out here. Kind of like being in the middle of nowhere," Annie joined Auggie who was stretched out on the seat at the stern of the boat.

"Or like being inside my head," he tapped it with the long neck of his beer bottle.

Annie just nodded and curled up against his warm bare chest sipping her beer.

The beer was never finished as Annie turned in Auggie's arms and found his lips, time seemed to stand still as Annie poured her heart and soul into kissing Auggie, images of him playing in the sand overwhelmed her and he felt her shudder under his hands.

"You cold?" he asked confused it was still swelteringly hot.

"No," she shook her head and returned to kissing him.

***555***

"Want to take a swim?" Auggie asked as they leaned against the side of the boat, his fingers trailing lazily through her hair.

"I don't know Auggie, it is awfully dark," Annie squinted out into the ink black night.

The boat had lights but they wouldn't have much of a span in the vast ocean.

"That isn't really a deterrent for me," he laughed.

"Don't you think one of us should be able to see?" she reasoned.

"Just don't let go of me," he shrugged and sat up.

He reached for the edge of the tee shirt she was wearing and peeled it from her body.

'Auggie?" she grinned.

"We should preserve our dry clothes in case it gets cold," he recited protocol.

"We're going skinny dipping? In the Atlantic Ocean? You better hope the Coast Guard doesn't show up, I do not want to explain this to Joan," she laughed but assisted him out of his shorts.

"I really want to dive in," Auggie stood by the ladder off the back of the boat.

"I know logically we lowered the anchor dozens of feet, but there could be a stray rock or something Auggie, please don't," Annie shook her head.

"You are awfully cautious tonight," he kissed her cheek and turned to grasp the ladder.

"We take enough risks in life, we have to be careful with the normal stuff," she said quietly.

"Save all our chances for the line of duty?" he followed her line of thought and reached out to run his fingers over her scars

Annie knew she could talk him into bed again, but he clearly wanted to do this, to venture into the sea with her at midnight. Auggie descended the short ladder and splashed quietly into the ocean.

"Brrr," he remarked as she was making her way down the ladder.

She reached the last step and by the soft light of the boat saw Auggie's outstretched hand, the rest of him shrouded in darkness.

She took his hand and submitted to the ocean. As Auggie suggested they never let go, Annie wrapped her arms around Auggie's neck, her legs around his waist and he tread water for both of them.

"We should live on a boat," Annie suggested as she nibbled Auggie's ear.

"Like Eyal? We could be neighbors," he grinned.

"Greece is nice," she agreed.

"Someday," he said strangely.

"Someday we'll live on a boat?"

"Well maybe not a boat, but someday we'll have a life that isn't all about lies and risk. Someday we will be able to have real vacations and buy a house and…." He stopped himself.

"And what?" she asked.

"Nothing, I'm being silly," he shook his head.

"Auggie?"

"I know we aren't supposed to think about the future, it is dangerous and skews our focus. Every relationship I have had in the past, and you too for that matter, have been all about the present, impulsive and immediate, no long-term planning because there is no long-term plan for people like us, there can't be in our jobs, it is today and that is it. You never know what tomorrow brings," he returned to protocol.

"But?" she encouraged.

"But, I know the future with you Annie. I know it. I imagine us old together, I always have, even before this. I have always imagined you and I beyond the office. Building that silly sand castle today…" he trailed off again tried to distract her with his hands along her ribs.

"What about the sand castle Auggie?" she slid her wet hands to his chin, forced his sightless eyes to meet hers.

"We're going to have kids Annie," it wasn't a question.

TBC…


	61. A Day at the Beach Part 7

A Day at the Beach Part 7

Annie let go of Auggie, just for a second and she could see the anguish on his face, even in the dark. She retook his hand quickly not wanting to scare him, but she couldn't speak, couldn't put words to how she felt.

She swam them back to the boat, climbed up the ladder and made sure Auggie had purchase on the rungs behind her. She explored the deck of the boat and found a small locker under one of the seats with towels in it, wrapping herself snuggly and handing one to Auggie.

He rubbed the towel on his hair, leaving his body as open to her as he just left his heart. A distant rumble of thunder rolled gently through the sky as light rain began to fall. Auggie could read Annie pretty well considering he couldn't see her, but he was having a hard time with her right now. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times without saying anything, afraid he had already said too much.

Annie dried her hair and watched him closely; saw the struggle on his face. She wanted to tell him she wanted those things too, that she could see their future together with kids and a big yard and nightmare-less nights, but she didn't want to risk it, saying it all made it real and made it fragile.

Suddenly the night lit up, a flash of lightening illuminating the planes of Auggie's body just feet in front of her and she closed the gap. The thunder rolled through a few seconds later, the storm getting closer. She kissed him, took his hands and led him still wet down below, closing the hatch on the cabin and opening a few small windows.

To the sound of a growing storm Annie used her mouth and her body to convince Auggie that she loved him as much as he just confessed. She told him without a single sound that she was bound to him forever, whatever tomorrow may bring.

***555***

Annie woke to the sound of rain on the deck above and Auggie tracing random patterns on her bare shoulder.

"Did you even sleep?" she mumbled unsure of the time.

"I did," he answered his voice soft and warm.

"Good," she smiled against his stomach and closed her eyes again.

***555***

It was after lunch and still raining when Annie and Auggie returned to the house. They entered through the kitchen door and Annie instantly put her arm across Auggie's chest before he walked into the chaos.

Shoes and clothes were strewn all over the place, random pieces of costume jewelry on the table.

"You made it back," Danielle said her voice a little strained, "it's raining. At the beach house."

Annie smiled and tried to clear a path for Auggie to safely cross the room.

"Annie! We're playing dress up," Katia announced unnecessarily as she teetered in on high heeled shoes with a frightening amount of lipstick on.

"That is quite the look Kat," Annie tucked her head against Auggie's shoulder to stifle the laugh bubbling up inside her.

"We're bored," Chloe announced, equally garish in her make up application.

"OK, well Auggie and I need to take a shower," she ran her hand along his stubbly jaw, "and you two could use a little soap and water yourselves," Annie was nearly crying from trying not to laugh, "then how about we all go to the movies, there has to be something playing, right?"

Everyone agreed it was a better idea than destroying the beach house and listening to the rain. Danielle checked times and locations as Annie and Auggie slipped into their room.

"They require constant entertainment," Annie said out of the blue, not necessarily as a cautionary tale, but as a point of fact.

"So do you," Auggie grinned and kissed her.

"True, but my kind of entertainment is a lot more fun," she agreed as she walked him back to their bathroom and removed his clothes along the way.

As she finished rinsing conditioner from her hair she looked over at Auggie who had slipped out of the shower to shave and smiled. She turned the faucet off and reached for her towel.

"I'm sorry about last night," she said as she came up behind him and kissed a shoulder.

"Why?" he looked confused.

"You wanted to talk and I shut down," she leaned up on her toes to rest her chin on the same shoulder.

"Annie, I get it, at least I hope I do. I hope you aren't hiding big things from me anymore," he still liked to kick himself for how oblivious he was during the Parker months.

"I'm not, I am an open book Auggie, too open, that is my fear and not because of you, but because of who we are most days," she turned her head laying her cheek against his shoulder now.

"Well then how about we just be a normal couple for the last few days of vacation. Enjoy your family, sleep late, eat too much and not work out, you know like regular folk?" he grinned.

"Sounds fantastic," she peppered kisses along his half shaven face and left him to finish the job.

***555***

The movie appeared to be adorable as evidenced by the squeal of the dozens of little girls in the crowded movie theater on a rainy summer day. Auggie could certainly follow the plotline, but his usual translator was of no help as she slept gently against his shoulder.

"Is she asleep?" Danielle laughed as the credits rolled.

"Yeah," Auggie grinned, "we had a late night."

"You guys OK on the boat during the storm?" Danielle asked as the girls collected all their trash.

"We weathered the storm just fine," Auggie smiled and stroked Annie's hair.

TBC…


	62. A Day at the Beach Part 8

A Day at the Beach Part 8

When they emerged from the movie theatre the rain had stopped and there were breaks in the clouds, the sun peeking out. Annie, refreshed from her movie theatre nap, offered to take the girls down to the beach for a little coastal exploration.

"Take a bath, read a book, have a glass of wine, this should be your vacation too," Annie instructed her sister as she slipped on her sunglasses.

"Thank you," Danielle replied sincerely.

"OK, so the tide is out," Annie informed, "and that means tide pools and lots of cool sea creatures. We're going to have a scavenger hunt and the person with the most and coolest sea creatures get s a prize."

"What's the prize?" Chloe asked.

"It's a surprise prize," Annie faltered having no idea what the prize would be.

"Well how do I know if I want it?" Chloe reasoned.

"You clearly did not inherit your Aunt's competitive streak," Auggie reached out and ruffled the girl's hair.

Annie rewarded him for his quip with a poke to the ribs.

"I promise you will like it," Annie smiled, "as soon as I figure out what it is," she whispered to Auggie.

"Here are the point values: regular crab = 2 point, hermit crab = 3 points, periwinkle = 2 points, any other clam or mussel = 2 points, starfish = 5 points, sand dollar = 10 points and any kind of actual fish is worth 25 points," Annie declared her arbitrary point system as she handed out the buckets and the small butterfly nets.

All 4 of them shucked their shoes in the sand and padded down to the tide pools barefoot. The water was cool and calm at low tide, the sun glinting and refracting off of rocks. Annie left the girls to explore and led Auggie to a large flat rock at the edge of one pool, he hopped up and sat down while she explored herself, bringing creatures back for him.

"Hermit crab," she announced and he held his palm out.

She dropped the small shelled crab in his palm and sure enough it emerged and skittered along.

"Starfish!" Annie declared as she found her favorite.

She coaxed the starfish from the side of a rock and placed it in Auggie's hand where it molded and wrapped itself around his finger.

"Cool," he grinned and leaned forward to kiss the smiling face of the woman who had so drastically changed his life.

"I've never done this," Auggie admitted.

"Blindly identified sea creatures?" she laughed.

"Played in a tide pool," he shrugged.

"It is so pretty," she tugged him off the rock and crouched down happy when he did the same.

He reached out and ran his hands through the water and over the salt worn stones and the crusty barnacles, the slimy seaweed and irregular ridges of shell.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"You're very welcome," she kissed him again.

The girls were studious in their efforts, Annie leaving them to their own devices for as long as their interest held. She reclined back on the flat rock and yawned.

"Still tired? After your nap," Auggie chuckled.

"Not tired, relaxed, there is a difference," she pointed out as she ran her nails over his back.

"I'm glad," he arched his back to her touch.

"Of what?"

"That you are relaxed, that we can do the normal folk thing we talked about."

"Honey, we are as far from normal folk as it gets, but that doesn't mean we don't deserve this peace and some joy," she sat back up and kissed him.

"I found it first!" Katia yelled and a minor scuffle ensued.

"Time's up!" Annie announced.

***555***

"Auggie let the crab crawl up his arm," Katia explained with awe.

"Annie gave me all the points for my starfish even though it was missing a leg and did you know they grow back, Annie told me that," Chloe reported.

"Sounds like a very fun scavenger hunt," Danielle smiled and sent the girls to clean up.

"We thought we would take them out for dinner, just get some take out on the boardwalk and ice cream and stuff. Let you linger over your book," Annie offered.

"Are you taking my kids for a test drive?" Danielle smirked and Auggie choked on the water he had been drinking.

"No, we are thanking you for sharing your vacation with us and providing a little free babysitting," Annie glared at her sister.

"Whatever," Danielle scoffed, "and thank you."

***555***

"That was so good, I can't eat another bite," Annie stated as she managed to get one more fried clam into her mouth.

"You said we could get ice cream though," Katia pointed out.

"Well, I have room for ice cream, that's different," Annie giggled.

"Going to need a full day in the gym when we get home," Auggie agreed as he scarfed down more fries.

"I'll help you burn some calories later," Annie whispered in his ear.

Auggie just grinned and turned into her whisper to kiss her.

"Yuck," Katia began so Auggie continued his onslaught, kissing all over Annie's face and making ridiculous kissing noises until Katia was curled up giggling.

"You guys are all weird," Chloe declared.

Annie turned to give her older niece a smile when something caught her eye.

"Can you stay with them a sec? I need to um, go to the ladies room," Annie covered hoping neither of the girls needed to go too.

"Yeah," Auggie agreed his jaw set to a slight edge.

She squeezed his leg under the table to assure him all was fine.

"Be good for Auggie, I'll be right back," she smiled at the girls and walked purposefully towards the little take out restaurant.

"That's strange," Chloe mentioned.

"What?" Auggie perked up.

"That guy's wearing a tie, at the beach," Chloe pointed, but of course it was lost on Auggie.

TBC…


	63. A Day at the Beach Part 9

A Day at the Beach Part 9

From the moment Chloe noted the guy with the tie Auggie kept a mental clock of how long Annie had been gone. He was unsure of what he would do if his concern ratcheted, as he had 2 small children to care for and couldn't go charging in and leave them or worse, drag them along.

Most bad guys don't wear ties though, if anything it was another operative who had found Annie on Joan's orders. Although Joan would have just called…

"Auggie, you aren't listening to me," Katia tapped his arm.

"I'm sorry Kat, what did you say?" he smiled towards the little girl.

"I was saying that I think I want bubble gum ice cream, because I like the bubble gum, but the ice cream isn't my favorite. I really like mint chocolate chip, but that doesn't have bubble gum in it," she continued.

"What if you got mint chocolate chip and then a pack of bubble gum for later," Auggie proposed.

"Could I?"

"Why not, it's vacation," he shrugged.

"Chloe, what kind of ice cream do you want?" Auggie asked trying to keep his mind off Annie.

***555***

"Cute kids, they yours?" Rossabi asked as Annie rounded the corner.

"No," she laughed, "they're my nieces."

"Ahhhh and I see the blind guy is still around, Rhianna was right, you can find love in a hopeless place," the FBI Agent smirked.

"It is always so nice, and unexpected, to run into you," Annie crossed her arms.

"Hey, I just came to say thank you, the photos and surveillance you sent helped. I can't really go into details, but it helped and the bureau is grateful, to both of you," Rossabi indicated his head back towards where Auggie sat.

"Good, glad to help," Annie smiled.

"You guys make a cute family," Rossabi mentioned.

"You look a little strange at the beach in a suit," Annie smiled again, patted him on the back and disappeared.

***555***

"Annie, Auggie said I could have ice cream and bubble gum," Katia reported upon her Aunt's return.

"Really? He did did he?" she slid closer to Auggie on the picnic bench and his arm came around her waist tapping a message on her hip.

"Guilty as charged," Auggie spoke as he tapped "All good?"

"Well I for one am ready for ice cream. Can you guys throw this trash away for me?" Annie asked as she watched the girls walk over to the trash can with their plates and napkins.

"Who was the guy with the tie?" Auggie asked when they were out of ear shot.

Annie whipped her head around, her hair smacking Auggie in the face.

"Chloe noticed a man with a tie," Auggie smiled.

"Oh, it was Rossabi, he came to thank us, they got something off the intel. Everything is fine," she squeezed his leg again.

"Your niece noticed a man with a tie and determined that he was out of place in the surrounding environment," Auggie finished the end of his lemonade with a glint in his eye.

"Stop it right now, you are not recruiting my 11 year old niece," Annie barked out a laugh.

***555***

Danielle could hear whispers and giggles coming from the back deck. It was dark and cooling off, she set off to investigate. There she found all 4 of them sharing the same lounge chair: Auggie was on the chair, Annie on Auggie, Chloe on Annie and Katia on Chloe and they were reclined back looking at the stars, well the girls were, Auggie seemed to be running his fingers through Annie's hair.

"How was dinner?" she asked quietly as she slipped out the kitchen door.

"So good, who knew real fish was better than fish sticks," Chloe reported.

"You got her to eat real fish?" Danielle was shocked.

"It was fried Danielle, it could have been shoe leather, and the ratio of tartar sauce to fish favored the condiment, it was delicious," Annie grinned.

"Still, impressive," Danielle gave the Mom seal of approval OK sign.

"We had fun," Chloe grinned.

"I'm glad, but you two need to put your pajamas on and go to bed," Danielle instructed.

"Okay," Auggie replied and moved to get up.

"Not you," Katia giggled.

"Oh, she meant you guys?" he looked confused and adorable.

"Brush your teeth," Danielle reminded.

"Twice, there was a lot of ice cream," Auggie called after them.

"You guys coming in?" Danielle held the door.

"In a minute," Annie replied as Danielle slipped inside.

Annie rolled over in the chair, snuggled her head against the soft tee shirt covering Auggie's shoulder and sighed contentedly.

"Can't see the stars like that," he teased.

"You're more beautiful than all the stars Auggie," her tone serious as she kissed along the column of his neck.

"Annie," Auggie sighed as she shifted her position, changed the angle of her head to reach that point of his throat where she could taste him, feel his pulse quicken under her lips.

The cool sea air clung to her hair, she smelled like the ocean and her body was that combination of soft and muscle that Auggie found so incredibly desirable, his hands skimming from the planes of her strong back to the soft curve of her sides, pulling her up so he could capture her mouth.

She still tasted like ice cream.

The End


	64. Bubbles Part 1

Author's note: Inspired by the best hotel bathroom I have ever experienced….

"The safe house has been compromised," Barber reported adding the 10th piece of bad news to Annie and Auggie's day.

"We need a place to go Eric, we are a mess, we need to shower and eat and sleep," Annie tried not to sound as hysterical as she was starting to feel.

The two of them had been traveling through Syria and Turkey for 6 days on a lead. Apparently their lead was not particularly exclusive as they had to dodge several competing spy services and a few gangs of opportunists with large guns along the way. Accommodations and amenities had been scarce.

Auggie had a puncture wound that did not look pleasant and Annie had blisters on her feet so bad she didn't dare take her shoes off. The last thing they ate was not edible and it was 2 days ago.

"I know. I am trying to secure a hotel room that meets protocol, but it is tough, give me 10 minutes," Barber replied typing away feverishly.

Annie was afraid to hang up, even with the Sat phone they had had trouble staying in touch.

"You OK?" She asked Auggie who looked kind of green.

"Just dehydrated, I'll be fine," he shook off her concern and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

The last water they had encountered was suspect and they used it just to wash up but didn't want to risk drinking it, but as they were now closer to the city Annie was hoping to find a small store off the beaten path to get a few supplies.

"Stay on the line with Barber," she placed the Sat phone in his hand.

"Where are you going?"

"5 minute perimeter walk, just see if I can find us anything useful," she kissed his dirty cheek.

"Careful," he nodded.

"Always," she replied and he smirked.

Annie's search was fruitful, literally. She found a small store and had enough local currency to buy a couple apples, a bottle of water and a box of crackers. She saw no sign of any of their traveling 'companions'.

When she returned to the tree she had left Auggie up against, he was no longer on the phone.

"We have a room for the night," he smiled," it is about 10 kilometers though into the city."

Auggie started to get up and Annie stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

"Let's sit and eat and have some water first," she dropped the bag of goodies and joined him on the ground.

"Nice work Miss Walker," he smiled as he felt his way through the bag and Annie wiggled herself against him, hip to hip.

They cautiously sipped the water and took small bites of the apples, so as not to shock their systems. The crackers were plain and balanced the acidity of the apples, the water was warm which was best for rehydrating.

Annie ran her fingers through Auggie's messy dirty hair, brushing it back and checking out a few scrapes that were more irritated than they should be. Annie's own hair had been in a bun for at least 3 days and she was terrified by how bad she must smell.

"You must really like me," she chuckled.

"Huh?" Auggie asked confused.

"Well, I realize you can't see how bad I look but you must be able to smell me," she grinned.

"I think we cancel each other out. I smell so bad I can't actually smell you, which is disorienting for me. I told Barber I didn't care where we slept as long as it had a very large bath tub. In fact, I told him we were willing to sleep in the bath tub if there was a choice between one or the other," Auggie handed her the end of water and got up, brushing cracker crumbs off his already destroyed clothes.

Annie laughed at his attempt to neaten himself up at this point.

***555***

"What's the plan?" Annie said as they made their way through back alleys in Istanbul.

"We have a guy in place, he has the room key and he is going to bring us in the back, apparently this place is kind of swanky," Auggie reported.

"We definitely don't look presentable enough for swanky," Annie laughed.

"That and we have about $6 on us made checking in on our own kind of hard."

"Speaking of, is this room stocked?" Annie hoped.

They had nothing but the clothes on their back, Auggie's wallet, the Sat phone and Annie's gun. Auggie's pack was snagged by a hostile on Day 4 and Annie had dumped hers to catch up to a truck they were chasing.

"Yes, I explained the situation to Barber."

"Oh good, cause there is no hope for these clothes, washing them in the hotel sink isn't going to help," Annie tugged at her stained tee shirt.

"I am not sure they would withstand washing at this point, they might just disintegrate," Auggie agreed.

"Who am I looking for?"

"Street vendor in a yellow turban, beard," Auggie related details.

"Got him," Annie spotted the man and led Auggie across a busy street still keeping an eye out for hostiles.

Annie greeted the man in Turkish and he spoke to his colleague before indicating Annie follow him. She didn't say a word as the man brought them through a service entrance and up to the top floor of a very nice hotel. When he left her at the door of a room at the end of a hall she thanked him, he nodded and left.

Annie slipped the key into the door and pulled Auggie inside before anyone saw them.

"Oh my god," Annie announced.

"What?" Auggie looked concerned.

"This is the nicest hotel I have ever been in," she laughed.

"I can tell it's nice, the carpet is thick and it smells really good, even with us in here," Auggie grinned.

"So the bed is right in front of you, but do not even think of touching it until we have bathed for several hours. Bathroom is behind you about 5 feet, TV to the right of the bathroom door. There is a desk in the corner, at your 2:00 and on it is a few bags and a note," Annie laid out the room.

Auggie stood perfectly still not wanting to dirty anything. Annie rummaged through the bags, there was some clothes and toiletries, cash and documents and a note from Barber.

Hey guys,

Order all the room service you want. Get cleaned up and a good night's sleep.

Eric

TBC…


	65. Bubbles Part 2

Bubbles part 2

Annie read the brief note from Barber out loud. Auggie heard her put the paper down on the table and then silence. No bags rustling, no movement until finally he heard her breath hitch.

"You ok?" he asked as he tried to navigate over to her.

She threw herself against him, dirty smelly body to dirty smelly body, and clung tightly. She didn't speak just nodded against his chest.

"We're OK," he replied.

She nodded again.

"I know. We need to look at that wound of yours and take 5 or 6 showers," she let him go, but not far, her hands grasping his biceps.

"For the record, this was way more fun than being captured by Somali pirates," Auggie grinned and Annie swatted at him.

"Not funny," she pointed out in case he missed her non-verbal cues.

She led him into the bathroom, grabbing the bags of stuff on the way, and left him there as she went to the closet and found the plastic dry cleaning bags.

"Everything, but shoes, in here," she announced as she flourished the bag open with a resounding thwack.

Following her own orders she stripped tee shirt and jeans off and shoved them in the bag. Her underwear and socks followed, even her bra which was luckily not one of her favorites went in the bag. Her feet weren't as bad as she feared, some open blisters for sure, but nothing that looked too far gone.

When Auggie removed all of his soiled garments Annie took a look at the wound on his shoulder. The two of them had jumped from a moving vehicle and Auggie got the wrong end of a sharp stick in the shoulder. Annie had field-dressed it and the bleeding stopped, but it was dirty and swollen and angry red.

She rinsed a face cloth in warm water and had Auggie hold it against the wound while she started the shower.

"Wow," she stated.

"What?"

"The shower head is like the size of a dinner plate, a US-sized dinner plate, and we can definitely both fit in here too," she surmised as she took in the dimensions of the tub.

"Perfect, I only went on this mission to get you wet and naked at the end," Auggie followed the wall over to where Annie stood.

"You can have me wet and naked any time you want, no need to jump from moving vehicles," she leaned up and kissed him.

She made sure he cleared the edge of the very deep tub before rummaging through and collecting some items.

"Remind me to kiss Barber when we get home," she mentioned as she lined up half a dozen bottles of things on the edge of the tub.

"I don't think I will do that," Auggie replied as the hot water beat on his head.

"He thought of everything, even razors," she smiled and ran her hand along his scruffy jaw.

"First things first, soap please," he held out his hand and was rewarded with a thick bar of neutral smelling soap.

"You won't have to smell like a girl," she smiled and also handed him a face cloth as she maneuvered around him to get her hair saturated.

"There is visible dirt in this shower with us and leaves , which I assume were in my hair," Annie laughed as she lathered her head with shampoo.

The first shower was all about getting clean, each of them jockeying for room under the large shower head. Sure, wet and naked with Auggie was always fun, but there was no time for extracurriculars, besides they were both too tired and hungry to consider anything more than clean.

Auggie finished first, his hair easier to wash and he stepped out to give Annie room to shave her legs.

"I'll order dinner," he offered as he wrapped a big white towel around his waist.

"Thank you," she replied enjoying the view.

Annie finished shaving her legs and enjoyed the warm spray of the shower a few minutes longer as she listened to Auggie order an immense amount of food in Turkish, fairly certain one of the words he said was 'chocolate.' He also told the man to leave the food outside and just knock, always being overly cautious.

She dried herself off and found the soft white robe that hung in the small closet in the huge bathroom. She slipped it on and grabbed the hair brush from the bag and a few first aid supplies and headed to the bedroom.

"Thirty minutes until food," Auggie smiled as he heard her brushing her wet hair.

"Excellent. Sit down let me dress that wound," she said softly.

The hot water had helped draw some of the gross stuff out of Auggie's wound; it was puckered and red, but not as inflamed as earlier. Annie smeared some antibiotic cream on it and bandaged it up. She found some antibiotics and handed him a pill with a bottle of cold water from the mini bar.

"Cold water, my god this is heavenly," Auggie took a few sips and then handed the bottle to Annie and she drank it almost too quickly her stomach flipping a little.

Annie climbed on the bed next to Auggie and could not believe how comfortable it was. Sleeping on the ground for 6 days had erased the memory of clean crisp sheets and the way a mattress can be both soft and supportive.

"Oh god," she flopped over on her back, stretching her arms and legs in all directions.

Auggie crawled over to her and laid his head on her chest.

"Nice," he practically purred as she raked her fingers through his now clean hair.

"We need a plan," Annie mentioned with a yawn.

"Food, bath, sex, sleep, more sex, more food, shower, extraction," Auggie counted off his plan.

"I see you have given this some thought," Annie laughed as she contemplated his plan, she could get behind it.

TBC


	66. Bubbles Part 3

Bubbles Part 3

Auggie was asleep when the knock came for the room service. The shower, combined with the comfortable bed and Annie running her fingers through his hair sent him easily to sleep. He was also still only wearing a towel, so Annie maneuvered out from under him and retrieved the room service cart from the vacant hallway.

There were no fewer than 8 covered dishes, a bottle of wine, a multitude of condiments and a bouquet of flowers on the tray which required some nifty shifting to fit in the room. Annie reviewed each item and divided the meal into several courses, bringing a large salad and some bread and cheese over to the bed.

"Food's here," she murmured in his ear, lips soft against his temple.

"Mmmm," he responded and snuggled deeper against the duvet.

"Don't think I won't eat it all, you really do not want to sleep through this," she said around a mouth of the freshest most delicious lettuce.

"M'up" he mumbled.

"All evidence to the contrary," she wriggled back against the headboard kneading his side with her toes.

He turned out to be more alert than she imagined as he flipped his position and tackled her legs, parting the soft terry cloth and kissing his way up her smooth, freshly-shaved calves.

"You need food," she giggled as he continued to kiss along her knee.

"I need you," he countered and her stomach dropped at the desire in his voice.

"Well, I need f-f-f-food," she stuttered as his teeth grazed the tender skin behind her knee.

"The food will still be here when we're done," he reasoned as he reached up and found the salad plate.

He managed to take the plate from her, find the bedside table, place it safely there with one hand while untying her bathrobe with the other and never removing his lips from her body.

"You're straying from your plan," Annie pointed out as he made his way up to find her lips.

"I'm adaptable," he grinned as his hands blazed the same path his lips had followed along her legs, up her sides and up to cradle her face.

"You certainly are," she said with awe of what they had survived the past week.

He smiled, knowing she was complementing his field work, proud of what they had done together in conditions outside of his normal comfort zone, convinced he was capable of almost anything if she was with him. He rolled onto his back bringing her soft weight on top of him, encouraging her knee with his knee as she straddled his waist.

She shrugged free of the bathrobe and paused for a minute to look down at Auggie, aside from the small bandage and a few scrapes he looked fine, maybe a little leaner than his normal already-too-lean, but not-terribly worse for wear. She didn't want to risk aggravating his wound though so she trailed her fingers down his arms and took both his hands in her own, lacing their fingers together.

"You might want to hold on," she grinned.

***555***

"Now I am really hungry," Auggie mentioned against the crown of Annie's head as he cradled her against his chest.

Annie huffed a quick laugh as she gathered herself together and tried to escape Auggie's arms.

"You're the one who altered the plan," she mentioned when she finally slipped out and reclaimed the bathrobe that had made its way to the floor.

"That was an addendum, not an alteration," Auggie clarified as he sat up.

"Duly noted," she smiled and opened the wine, pouring them both a glass before grabbing another covered dish.

They sat on the bed facing each other and cross-legged and passed dishes back and forth, There was grilled fish and slow roasted and deliciously herbed chicken, veggies and cous cous, there was a pumpkin dish that was both spicy and sweet and Annie almost didn't share that with Auggie until his nose picked up the cardamom.

"There should be chocolate," Auggie mentioned as he cleaned a plate with the delicious flatbread.

"Can we save that?" she asked as she finished her wine.

"Sure, we have all night and probably a good part of tomorrow before Eric will have an extraction. I told him to take his time," Auggie smiled.

"Now I know you aren't supposed to swim for 30 minutes after a meal, but a bath should be OK, right," Annie giggled the wine already going to her head.

"I think we'll be OK," Auggie agreed.

"Good, cuz I am dying to soak in that tub, it is amazing," her voice was moving away from him so he got up and felt his way around the room service cart.

"Want company?" he asked hopefully.

"If you don't mind smelling like roses," she waved the small bottle of rose-scented bubble bath under his nose.

"I'll get over it," he shrugged as he heard the rush of water begin to fill the tub.

"This bathroom is so nice, I might not want to leave," Annie sighed.

"It is quite spacious," he agreed.

"It has a closet, a whole closet. It also has a double sink and a heated towel rack and mood lighting," she dimmed the main lights, leaving recessed lighting on to relax by.

"And a bathtub built for two," he found her and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

She could see them in the mirrored wall over the sinks, they looked better for sure, but neither of them had brushed their hair after the shower and Annie was completely make up free, but still she thought they looked beautiful together, meant for one another in so many different ways.

"Tub's ready," Annie whispered as she turned to kiss his scruffy cheek.

"I think I might keep the beard," he floated the idea.

"You kind of look like Ben Affleck," she pointed out as they acclimated to the hot water and sank into the deep tub.

"That would be kind of appropriate, he's married to that chick who played the CIA Agent, right?"

"Jennifer Garner, yes," Annie replied trying not to get hung up on the 'married to' part.

"I might keep it," he returned to his original thought, "it isn't grey is it?"

"No," she laughed, "I'll tell you when you start going grey. You do know Barber has a beard though, right?"

"Um, no. It has never come up. I think we have talked enough about my facial hair," he laughed and leaned down to place a kiss on her shoulder.

"Probably," she agreed, "I think we are officially sleep-deprived."

"What time is it?" Auggie asked completely disoriented without any kind of normal routine.

"Not quite 6:00 pm. I was hoping we could stay awake until at least 9:00 to get on a fairly regular sleep schedule, but 9:00 seems like a long time from now."

Annie's fingers and toes were pruned and the water cooling, the two occupants of the tub were still awake but quiet, their fingers trailing along one another casually.

"Mmmm, we need to get out of here before we fall asleep and drown," Annie sat up removing the warmth of her back from Auggie's chest.

"That would be ironic, evade capture and hostiles for a week and then drown in a luxury hotel bathtub. I'd hate to write the report on that one," Auggie's speech was slightly slurred by exhaustion.

"I'm amending the plan again," Annie handed him a towel and a hand to get out of the tub.

"Yeah?" he patted himself dry.

"Sleep, now," she wrapped the towel around her body and led him over to the large bed.

They slipped under the cool crisp sheets and Annie had just enough time to curl against his side before she was asleep.

TBC…


	67. Bubbles Part 4

Bubbles Part 4

Annie woke up confused and alone, but so very comfortable. She stretched feeling every clean soft part of her body moving against the clean soft bed and blankets around her. The room was dark and the clock indicated it was 1:00 am.

"Auggie?" she asked quietly not wanting to startle him.

"In here," he replied from the dark bathroom.

As Annie approached her eyes adjusted to the dark and she saw him standing at the sink, naked. She also heard the scrape, flick and swish of a man shaving.

"Decided to lose the beard?" she asked around a yawn.

"It's scratchy," he wrinkled his nose.

"So it's not because Barber has a beard?" she smiled as she hopped up on the counter to watch.

She had once told Auggie he was mesmerizing, but now that she had the privilege to watch him every day she realized mesmerizing was an understatement.

Auggie just grinned at her comment about Barber and continued his task.

"Did you sleep?" she asked assessing her own state of wakefulness.

"Yeah, really well for 5 hours, guess my body thought that was enough."

"That was my fear, we are going to be messed up for a few days and have to deal with time zones when we get home," she swung her bare legs from the counter.

"And Joan, don't forget Joan, dealing with jetlag will be a walk in the park comparatively," he pointed out unnecessarily.

"I thought we agreed to never talk about Joan when we were naked," she changed the subject and reached a hand out to touch his side.

He nodded dutifully and finished the task at hand.

"I think it is funny that you still look in the mirror to shave," she commented as he rinsed the razor and placed it on the edge of the sink.

"Well it is where the sink is and it was how I learned, habit I guess. How'd I do?" he asked as he ran his hand along his jaw to make sure he didn't miss anything.

Annie grabbed a hand towel and wiped some stray shaving cream away, following behind with her lips to admire the smooth skin he uncovered.

"Nice," she pulled him closer and he moved to stand between her legs.

She kissed a path to his lips and engaged them fully while wrapping both arms and legs around him. He leaned into her scooting her back on the marble counter a little.

"Auggie," she attempted between the onslaught of his mouth and tongue.

"Auggie," a little breathless this time.

"Mmmmm god, Auggie," she forced her mouth away from his.

"Hmmm?" he asked as he just refocused his efforts on her neck.

"This bathroom is awesome and can be used for many many things, but this little activity would be much more fun in the bed," she reasoned despite her desire to not let go of him.

He must have read her mind because he picked her up as she was wrapped around him and between the two of them they made it to the bed without tripping over anything.

"Better?" he asked as he laid her down in the slightly rumpled but still deliciously clean bed.

She pulled him down on top of her so they touched, hips to hips, chest to chest and he angled his back so they were also nose to nose.

"Yes," she whispered, her voice suddenly stolen, taken by the emotion that threatened.

"Yes," she repeated and it would become a mantra over the next half hour.

***555***

Annie awoke the next time to the sound of silver on china and the smell of chocolate.

"You better not have eaten all of that," she rasped her eyes still closed.

"What kind of man would I be if I did that?" he sounded hurt.

"You'd be the kind of man who sleeps on the floor for one thing," she rolled over and saw him sitting up against the headboard grinning at her.

"Want some?" he offered up a forkful of dense dark chocolate cake.

"Yes please," she nodded as she sat up and moved her mouth to the fork.

They had determined it was much safer for him to feed her if she intercepted the fork rather than him guessing where her mouth was.

The cake was perfect, not too sweet but sweet enough, dense but moist and so rich a couple of bites was enough. He handed her his glass of red wine left from earlier and it married the flavors so beautifully in her mouth.

"Wow," she said with the same kind of awe she usually reserved for other activities in bed.

She saw Auggie's jaw twitch and his eyes darken. She handed him back the wine and he took a sip agreeing with her assessment of the cake and wine pairing.

"Wow is right, they go so well together," he tried another bit of cake to confirm.

"Like us," she blushed and squeezed his knee under the sheet.

"Am I the cake or the wine?" he cocked his head to one side as he pondered the idea.

"The wine, definitely the wine," she answered quickly.

"How do you figure?"

"Well they say red wine is good for your heart and you have certainly healed mine," she surmised and leaned forward to kiss him, the taste of chocolate from his last bite still present on his tongue.

"I could say the same about you," he spoke against her neck as she hugged him tightly.

"Well we can't both be the wine," she argued.

"OK, OK, you're the cake, I give up," he laughed not sure what the point of the whole conversation was, but couched in the analogy was the closest thing Annie had said about love.

While Auggie knew they were in love, the words were not used often, there was a risk for people like them to vocalize emotion, it made them vulnerable. Auggie felt at a loss though as he knew his love for her was evident on his face and he couldn't see Annie's in return. He felt it, in the way she clasped his hand or stroked his face, the way she kissed him as if she were taking his breath for her own sustenance. He knew it, but sometimes it was good to hear it too.

The End

Author's Note: I am getting on a 6 hour flight this morning and tomorrow you may have a whole new story or you might not have anything from me. I apologize if it is nothing, but I hope it is the start of something new and kind of nuts.


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